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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573311">Chasing the Vortex</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fawn_Eyed_Girl/pseuds/Fawn_Eyed_Girl'>Fawn_Eyed_Girl</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mickisketch/pseuds/Mickisketch'>Mickisketch</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeutronStarChild/pseuds/NeutronStarChild'>NeutronStarChild</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruddcatha/pseuds/Ruddcatha'>Ruddcatha</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Artist-Author Collaboration, Consensual Sex, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Slow Burn, Tornado Chasers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:28:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>54,330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573311</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fawn_Eyed_Girl/pseuds/Fawn_Eyed_Girl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mickisketch/pseuds/Mickisketch, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeutronStarChild/pseuds/NeutronStarChild, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruddcatha/pseuds/Ruddcatha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Inuyasha knew what happiness was. It was him alone with a tornado, because tornadoes were predictable, and simple. And being alone meant no more getting hurt. Then Inuyasha’s Ph.D. advisor dropped the ultimatum on him: to host a plucky photographer from Chicago to help get their weather institute funded, or else. </p><p>Kagome Higurashi, for her part, couldn't wait. She’d always wanted to chase tornadoes, and wanted to see how close she could get to one, to get that perfect shot. And lord knew the chaser needed the help! And for that week stuck together in tornado alley, it’s not just the debris that’s flying.</p><p>Nominated for <a href="https://feudalconnection.tumblr.com/nominations"><b>Best Action</b></a> and <b><a href="https://feudalconnection.tumblr.com/nominations">Best Drama</a></b> in 2021 Q2 <a href="https://feudalconnection.tumblr.com">Feudal Connection</a> Awards!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>447</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>216</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Divergent Adventures of Inuyasha</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Perfect Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the manga and/or anime.</p><p>Hello everyone, and welcome to our new collaborative fic! <i>Chasing the Vortex</i> is the result of several months of plotting, arting, and writing, and we are thrilled to offer the first chapter to you! Please enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Fuck yes.”</p><p>There it was. Finally. The thing he could wait forever for. The thing he obsessed over day and night, staring at weather maps and trying to read the tea leaves. The thing he could drive overnight with no sleep to chase, because when he succeeded, he felt like a king. It was a dance between himself and the fury of mother nature, and he always had to catch his partner first. And he’d been standing in the same goddamned position for <em> an hour </em> waiting for the tease of a goddamned storm cell to drop something, and finally, it had given Inuyasha what he wanted.</p><p>Roping elegantly down from the green-gray shelf was what he was waiting for. He’d called it right: the storm over White Sands was a storm that was gonna put out. And from the looks of the stump, which was only about a mile away, she was gonna put out <em> good</em>. Inuyasha grabbed his camera, focusing in on the looping, roping trunk that was flirting with the earth, stirring up the ground that it so desperately wanted to connect with. Inuyasha lined up the shot and started clicking.</p><p>The tornado was too far away for him to try to drive up and deploy probes, and the storm was <em> just </em> unpredictable enough that he wasn’t going to rush at it on foot. Half-demon or not, walking into a tornado was stupid, and this one looked like it was going to be strong. Inuyasha always listened to his instincts in storms like this: he could smell the stirred up earth already, even though the twister had not even made it halfway out of her cloud perch. He could hear the beginning of the howl of the winds, and his yōki was trying to force him to flee.</p><p>But fuck that. He was a goddamn superstar at chasing. Here he was, on a storm no one had predicted, getting shots of a truly beautiful tornado, in the middle of a goddamned scenic national park. He wasn’t after the National Geographic shots: he was after the science. The time stamps on the photos with the ground and clouds in the shot would help to map the progression of the funnel cloud from a dip in the wall cloud, down to the ground, and (hopefully) through the track that the tornado followed.</p><p>White Sands was also a fucking <em> perfect </em> place for the tornado to land, because there was jack <em> shit </em> above ground for it to hit. It was a perfect storm, capping off a perfect fucking day. Any day Inuyasha got to spend alone, in his car, chasing a storm, <em> especially </em> a storm no one else had the brains to chase, was a great goddamn day.</p><p>Inuyasha kept snapping pictures as the tornado headed southwest, toward him. But the path had become more predictable, and even if the thing looped, it would miss him. Tornadoes were one of the few places that Inuyasha allowed himself to smile. They weren’t exactly <em> predictable</em>, but they were dependable. And nonjudgmental. Every time he caught one, it reminded <em> everyone else </em> that he was a fucking brilliant tornado chaser. They took every ounce of his attention; when he was there, standing off against one, he didn’t have to think about <em> anything else </em> but that moment, and he fucking <em> loved </em>that.</p><p>“Damn girl, you’re getting sexier as we speak, aren’t ya?” Inuyasha purred, snapping the shutter of his camera as the tornado’s base thickened further. He always found it easier to talk to the tornado than to converse with fucking people, especially <em> women</em>, who seemed to either avoid him or fetishize him, or <em> worse </em> if he made the foolish decision to actually let them into his life.</p><p>Then, something truly remarkable happened: the dark gray funnel began lightening, until it was nearly white; the tornado had wandered into the gypsum of White Sands National Park. It was the most beautiful tornado that Inuyasha had ever seen.</p><p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/639601230016069632/the-art-i-made-for-the-first-chapter-of-chasing">
    
  </a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>As he contemplated this, an annoying squawk emanated from Inuyasha’s pants.</p><p>“Bloody hell,” Inuyasha growled, careful not to take his eye off the tornado as he fumbled in the oversized pocket and found his iPhone.</p><p>How did Totosai seem to have the worst timing in the fucking <em> universe</em>? But Inuyasha also knew better than to ignore a summons from the old ox. Because Totosai didn’t text unless it was really important, and usually if he’d been unable to get a hold of Inuyasha in the more normal ways.</p><p>Inuyasha glanced at the tornado one last time with a little whine, but she looked like she was dying out. He snapped a few more photos, trying to capture the exact moment that the wedge became spindly, and then disappeared completely, leaving nothing but a mist of debris as an echo of her majesty.</p><p>Inuyasha sighed, then looked down at his phone, ready to finally pay attention.</p><p><em> Big news. Need you in my office ASAP<br/>
</em> Inuyasha scowled at Totosai’s text. He couldn’t just <em> share </em> the goddamned big news?</p><p>But Professor Totosai was a traditionalist. He liked sitting face-to-face across from someone to talk to them, especially about “big news.” And Inuyasha could appreciate that.</p><p>The problem was, Inuyasha was a 10-hour drive <em> away </em> from Totosai’s office at that moment. In the middle of the New Mexico desert. Chasing the first tornado of the season. But it was a fucking <em> beautiful </em> tornado, and he was really glad he made the drive.</p><p>Inuyasha scanned the horizon and above his head to make sure that he wasn’t about to be taken by surprise by tornado number two, then looked down at his phone, and pressed the call button below Totosai’s name.</p><p>“Where are you?” Totosai’s gravelly voice was loud in the receiver. It was loud enough that Inuyasha’s ears twitched involuntarily on the top of his head. Fucking ox <em> always </em> spoke too loud into the phone.</p><p>“White Sands, New Mexico,” Inuyasha barked back.</p><p>“What—” Totosai started, then paused. “You know what? Don’t even tell me. Just get back.”</p><p>“What’s the big news?” Inuyasha probed.</p><p>“You’re gonna want to wait until I can tell you in person,” Totosai drawled. “Did you get data?”</p><p>“Pulled up the national weather service map, did ya?” Inuyasha grinned, scanning the sky one more time for any new swirls or nipples peeking out from the wall cloud.</p><p>“You’re only this smug when you got something,” Totosai answered. “Probes?”</p><p>“Not close enough to roads, and too big and unpredictable to deploy on foot.” Inuyasha answered. “But I got a lot of pictures. She was probably the prettiest tornado I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>Inuyasha could swear he heard a labored sigh on the other end of the phone line from his thesis advisor. But… in the five years they’d worked together, he’d heard Totosai sigh like that a lot.</p><p>“Looks like the news will wait for you to get back,” Totosai said. “See you tomorrow afternoon? My office?”</p><p>Inuyasha whined. He’d wanted to stay around New Mexico for another day at least. The cold front had stalled and was looking ripe to produce at least one more day of supercells, but he also knew better than to argue with Totosai when he made a command like that.</p><p>“Fine. See you there.” Inuyasha tried not to sound perturbed, but suspected he failed. “I’ll start heading home now.”</p><p>“Don’t do anything stupid,” Totosai grumbled back. “Email me when you get back.”</p><p>“It almost sounds like you’re worryin’ about me, ox,” Inuyasha chuckled, pleased to hear a scowl on the other end of the line.</p><p>“Only about the trouble you seem to get yourself in,” Totosai snarled back. “The equipment in that jalopy of yours would be a giant pain in the ass to replace.”</p><p>“I’d rather be in my Jeep than any of those hoity-toity ‘vehicles’ your drones all drive,” Inuyasha snapped. He knew he wasn’t being fair; most of Totosai’s grad students were moderately competent. But Totosai had insulted his <em> wheels</em>.</p><p>“Yeah yeah yeah. If you drive through the night, grab some coffee and take a shower before coming to my office tomorrow,” Totosai grumbled. “And… good job today. You were the only one who called the White Sands storm right.” There was a slight pause, and just before Inuyasha hung up, Totosai piped up again. “Tomorrow, though. My office. Because I was not BSing you about there being news.”</p><p>“Just tell me now,” Inuyasha shrugged.</p><p>“Nope. It’ll wait for you to be back in Norman. Now get on the road back and see you tomorrow,” Totosai answered, then hung up.</p><p>Inuyasha looked down at his phone with a frown. Totosai had only once before told Inuyasha he had <em> big news</em>. It was three years ago: Totosai had heard back from the National Science Foundation that his proposal for a deployable tornado chasing team had been accepted. It came with funding and it came with drones.</p><p>It wasn’t that Inuyasha <em> resented </em> the new grad students, but… he didn’t like <em> people</em>. So the idea of having to go along in a fucking convoy of cars heading toward a storm, like a fucking <em> herd</em>, grated at his nerves. He refused to drive one of Totosai’s new Subarus. And he’d made at least three of Totosai’s new grad students cry on a chase (was it his fucking fault that they had turds for brains and almost got too close?).</p><p>He just… he wasn’t a people person. He liked Totosai. And he liked tornadoes. He wanted to be a field meteorologist, and he was fucking good at it. Even Totosai begrudgingly acknowledged <em> that </em> about him. And Totosai never heard the whispers…<em>half-demon, half-breed, mutt, </em> and even fucking <em> abomination. </em> The drones were smart enough not to utter those things anywhere in earshot, but he knew <em> always </em>that it wasn’t that far away. So no, he didn’t like people. Not since—</p><p>Inuyasha packed up his camera in its padded bag, and opened the door to his fire engine red Jeep Wrangler. It might’ve been a little old and a little beat up, but it was <em> perfect</em>. It listened to him, and it told him what it needed with nothing more than a clank or a rattle. It was simple, and special, and entirely him. He <em> knew </em> that if shit ever hit the fan, his Jeep would get him out of a bad situation.</p><p>Inuyasha turned on the ignition, and plugged his phone into the after-market sound system he’d added. He entered “Home” on his maps app, and turned on his “long drive” playlist. Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ greeted him, serenading him home.</p><p>“Big fucking news,” Inuyasha muttered, then threw the Jeep into reverse and headed back to Norman, Oklahoma.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What's the big news that Totosai has for Inuyasha? And how will Inuyasha respond (LOL, probably not well.) Find out this, and more, at our next update, which should be next Tuesday! And as always, thanks everyone for reading! We so appreciate it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Not a Request</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Inuyasha gets the news from the old Ox about what this “big news” was! He is... not happy. At all. For <i>many <b>many</b></i> reasons. (And goddamit, his photography is <b>fine!</b>)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/640147470911979520/the-2nd-chapter-for-chasing-the-vortex-the-story">  </a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>“No.”</p><p>“Not a question Inuyasha.” Totosai’s raspy voice had taken on an edge of exasperation. “They’re coming at the end of the week. And you are going to <em> be nice.</em>”</p><p>“<em>Fuck </em> no,” Inuyasha growled. “I work alone, <em> Ox.</em>”</p><p>“You are not going to be <em> working at all </em> if you keep this attitude, Taisho.” Totosai finally lost his temper, letting out his booming voice. “And get the hell off my desk!”</p><p>Inuyasha popped off of the heavy wooden desk usually scattered with scrap notes and research papers, but immediately rounded on his advisor.</p><p>“How could you fucking <em> do this to me </em> ?!” Inuyasha pleaded, keeping the growl out of his voice. “You… I… you <em> know </em> I am not…a <em> people person</em>…”</p><p>“But you’re the best chaser there is,” Totosai sighed. “I… <em> need you to do this</em>. And… because I am your advisor, I am <em> making you do this</em>.”</p><p>Inuyasha wanted to flip the fucking Ox’s desk and storm out, but he knew better.</p><p>“Tell me why again.” Inuyasha pinched the bridge of his nose.</p><p>Totosai never ordered him to do <em> anything</em>. This was the once-in-a-lifetime show of authority he never expected from the old Ox, which meant that it was something his advisor considered <em> life or death </em> important.</p><p>“Hakurei Weather Institute.” Totosai rubbed the bridge of his own nose, mirroring Inuyasha. “You know, Inuyasha? The weather institute I’ve been trying to fund for a <em> decade </em> and finally got the grant for?”</p><p>“Yeah yeah yeah Hakurei Institute…” Inuyasha grumbled. “Con-fuckin-gratulations… but I still don’t understand what that has to do with me.”</p><p>“Of <em> course </em> you don’t, because any time we talk about anything that’s not work or science, you tune out, dog brain!” Totosai snarled. “I’ve been working with the Norman planning board nearly as long as I’ve been applying for the grant, and those assholes have <em> finally </em> considered my permit. But <em> only </em> if I get a bond issue through. They were holdin’ out on me!”</p><p>Totosai’s shoulders slumped so minutely that if Inuyasha hadn’t been paying attention, and if he didn’t know the old Ox so well, he would have missed it.</p><p>“...And I guess if we want to try to make this <em> permanent</em>, I need to get the Oklahoma legislature on my side too.” Totosai sighed an exhausted sigh. “That’s the shit they don’t tell you about when you do these big things. All of a sudden, you’re no longer a scientist, you’re also a goddamned <em> manager </em> and <em> politician </em> and <em> CEO</em>.”</p><p>Totosai looked tired.</p><p>The day that he’d found out he got the $10M grant from the NSF had been the best fucking day of his life! Even <em> Inuyasha </em> had come to the party. But… no good deeds went unpunished, and Totosai really had stepped back from the science he loved, to try to get the weather institute set up.</p><p>“...So—this is gonna help.” Totosai perked up, but his eyes were narrow and shrewd. “It’s gonna bring publicity to what we are doing here. To what <em> Hakurei </em> is all about. We don’t just chase tornadoes, we are working on next level weather prediction. We are working on pinpointing <em> which storms </em> are going to produce tornadoes, allowing for an earlier warning system. We’re <em> saving lives</em>!”</p><p>“I fucking <em> know</em>,” Inuyasha interrupted Totosai’s ramble. “You convinced the goddamned NSF did ya not? So how much harder are a bunch of stuffed shirts and Joe Blows to convince? It can’t be fucking <em> hard</em>.”</p><p>“For how smart you are, sometimes you are the stupidest person I know, Inuyasha,” Totosai barked. “You can’t handle talking to <em> grad students </em> who study this for a living, and you think that the random clerk at the convenience store is going to vote for us? We <em> need help </em> , because scientists <em> suck </em> at talking to people. Especially you.”</p><p>“Then why give me a goddamned <em> tagalong </em> if I fucking fail at even talking to <em> grad students</em>?” Inuyasha barked right back. “You… you <em> know— </em>”</p><p>“I <em> know </em> Inuyasha, but believe it or not, this is bigger than your problems.” Totosai lowered his voice, so that even those who were listening in on their fight would not hear him. “So you are going to take Kagome Higurashi with you on your chases.”</p><p>“My photography is fucking <em> fine,</em>” Inuyasha mumbled; he never did know when to stop.</p><p>“For science? Sure,” Totosai scoffed. “You get something in the shot for scale, manage to get a time series that can be used to calculate the rate of growth, power, and duration.” Then Totosai chuckled. “But somehow, you make even the most beautiful tornadoes look dry and uninteresting. I’ve never been sure how you do that. You give me hundreds of photos… I figured you’d get at least one right!”</p><p>“O-<em> kay</em>!” Inuyasha shouted.</p><p>He was a fucking fine photographer. His series of photos of tornadoes had been used in the NSF grant application, after all. Where did the old Ox get off telling him that he was not good at it?</p><p>“Ms. Higurashi is the <em> best </em> at what she does,” Totosai grumbled. “She is going to be riding with you, and she is going to be taking shots of the tornadoes and some of the action. I’m putting her with you because if there’s a tornado, you’ll find it.”</p><p>“She better not ask me fucking questions,” Inuyasha muttered.</p><p>He’d lost the fight. Had Totosai confirm that he was <em> shit </em> with people and shit at photography. And he was shoving a photographer—a <em> woman </em> photographer—down his throat during his special time. Everything about it fucking <em> sucked</em>.</p><p>“Nope. The Jidai journalist will mostly be with me, a fox demon named Shippō,” Totosai said, and Inuyasha didn’t miss the relief laced through his voice. “So… this mean I can send on confirmation?”</p><p>“I thought you said it was not a request…” Inuyasha deadpanned.</p><p>“It wasn’t,” Totosai replied. “But that doesn’t mean I want you being an ass about it when Ms. Higurashi shows up pretending I surprised you.”</p><p>“You considered surprisin’ me, didn’t you Ox?” Inuyasha chuckled.</p><p>“Only for a second,” Totosai admitted. “Your bark is worse than your bite. But new people don’t know that.”</p><p>“Whatever,” Inuyasha shrugged. “Besides forcing this stupid photographer on me, anything else we need to discuss?”</p><p>“We’re gonna start deploying the whole crew next week.” Totosai got up from his desk. “So try being nice to the first years. They’re scared enough of the damn tornadoes without you barking at them.”</p><p>“Tell them to be less stupid and we have a deal,” Inuyasha snapped back; okay, fine, he totally knew he was being petulant now.</p><p>“Go.” Totosai pointed to his office door.<br/>
To most normal people, this might have seemed rude, but Inuyasha had been working with the old Ox long enough to know that this was his way of saying business was concluded, and saving both of them from further argument.</p><p>Inuyasha stomped out of the office.<br/>
Of all the fucking news he’d expected from Totosai, being forcibly volunteered to host a ride-along with a fucking <em> photographer </em>was the last thing he’d been prepared for.</p><p>Is that why he acquiesced and didn’t keep up the fight?<br/>
Would this have happened to him if he’d torn up Totosai’s office and stomped out?<br/>
Reminded Totosai of <em> exactly why </em> he was kept away from people?<br/>
Because fucking Totosai <em> knew</em>—probably even remembered the wreck Inuyasha had been his second year when everything went to shit.<br/>
When Kikyo…<br/>
When he became a 24 year old divorcée.</p><p>It wasn’t like he was exactly a <em> people </em> person before that but… that had broken him. He never wanted to let anyone get that close again.</p><p>“It’s me or the tornadoes, Yash,” Kikyo had said.<br/>
And when he didn’t answer her, she left.</p><p>He’d met Kikyo his freshman year of college, at some stupid mixer or another. They fell fast and they fell hard. And were just young and stupid enough to believe that feeling incomplete when they were away from each other was a fucking good reason to be together. The day that Inuyasha found out he’d been accepted into University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology, he’d proposed. He thought that was the best fucking day of his life.</p><p>He should’ve known better.<br/>
Marrying that young, to their first real partner, had meant that they’d never actually <em> dealt </em> with the big growing up sorts of things. Kikyo had never liked his chasing, and he just figured that because he loved it, she would too, because that was what spouses were supposed to do.</p><p>Then she’d asked him to give it up. Not just the chasing, but also the Ph.D.<br/>
And… he couldn’t.<br/>
He’d never felt worse than the day he realized that he loved meteorology more than he loved Kikyo.<br/>
Or that, without her, he had no idea how to talk to people.</p><p>It was a damn good thing that he’d chosen Professor Totosai—the old Ox of the department, but who had a knack of just “getting” his students. And so, the day Kikyo left, when Inuyasha showed up at Totosai’s office with a chase map based on the overnight models, Totosai simply listened, then at the end of the conversation, put his hand on Inuyasha’s shoulder.</p><p>“Don’t push yourself.”<br/>
Those were Totosai’s only words to Inuyasha about his impending divorce, and they were the only words he needed. They were perfect.</p><p>And they were three years ago.<br/>
And Inuyasha <em> still </em> didn’t really interact with anyone outside of Totosai, preferring to work on his projects alone. Preferring to chase tornadoes alone. Preferring… really… to be <em> alone</em>.</p><p>"Kagome-fucking-Higurashi,” Inuyasha growled as he headed back toward his apartment. “Just what I fucking need.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Pulitzer-Worthy Assignment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kagome and Shippo get their next assignment; Kagome is none-too-excited...until she learns the details. She sees the photography of a certain hanyō, and has...<i>opinions</i>.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the manga and/or anime.</p>
<p>Hello, everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of Chasing the Vortex! In this chapter, we finally meet one Kagome Higurashi, a photojournalist with a thirst for adventure. How will she react to her next assignment? We hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Magnificent Mile. Home to some of Chicago’s most exclusive stores, businesses, and media outlets.</p>
<p>And for Kagome Higurashi, it was also the mainstay of her operations: the place she returned to after every adventure, every assignment, with her portfolio in hand (well, in <em> email</em>, anyway) and ready to submit. </p>
<p>As she looked up at the <em> Jidai </em> building, Kagome knew: there was something new, and fresh, and exciting, waiting for her, beyond those doors.</p>
<p>She had just started work on her most recent portfolio chronicling the month she and Shippo Midori, the journalist she was often partnered with, spent with rock climbers at Denali National Park. They had climbed the West Rib, which was a three-week ascent and descent, along the Kahiltna Glacier. One month in the snow, in below freezing temperatures in April and May? For the shots she’d gotten—of the Northeast Fork of the Glacier, of the West Rib itself, of the climbers scaling steep snow over rotten ice at 17,000 feet? Of the tents sitting on outcrops of the mountain, with the climbers grinning and giving her a thumbs up, even as the drop off the side of their tent would mean certain death? </p>
<p>Even though it had been cold—freezing, even—Kagome had never felt more alive than staring down the face of a thousand-foot wall of ice and snow. She’d even stayed cozy and warm at night, thanks to the company of a certain sexy wolf demon who was an excellent tracker and mountaineer. She’d almost been sorry to say goodbye to him at the end of the month, but...whatever. She’d gotten some amazing photos to...<em>remember </em> him by. (Yes, that was it.)</p>
<p>She’d barely been back from Denali a week when she’d gotten an urgent phone call from her editor, Kagura, to come see her <em> immediately</em>. Shit, Kagome was still processing the photos from Denali; she didn’t have time to come into the office when she had a deadline looming over her head!</p>
<p>But, Kagura had said, <em> Come in tomorrow, 9am</em>, and Kagura <em> never </em> insisted that Kagome be <em> anywhere </em> before noon. It was part of why Kagome liked her editor so much; Kagura understood that the life of a photojournalist meant keeping odd hours, and Kagura gave Kagome the freedom of choosing said hours, especially when she was processing and editing her work. Luckily, Kagura had given Kagome enough notice that she’d gone to bed at a reasonable hour, and was able to wake up at a reasonable (for most people, but not for her) hour, to get to <em> Jidai </em> headquarters on time. </p>
<p>As she rode up the elevator to Kagura’s floor, Kagome leaned back against the elevator wall and smirked. Whatever Kagura had to tell her, Kagome suspected it was big, and when Kagura went big, she went <em> huge</em>. Like Denali for a month with rock climbers huge. Kagome’s heart started beating faster in anticipation. Maybe this would be the big one: the assignment she’d been waiting for.</p>
<p>Kilimanjaro. Fuji. The Sahara. The Amazon.</p>
<p>Something international. Something truly Pulitzer-worthy. </p>
<p>Kagome had been taking photos since she was a little girl. Her mother and grandfather had indulged her hobby, buying her increasingly complex camera setups. She still remembered squealing when her mom bought Kagome her first SLR camera, complete with a tripod, and then how patient her family had been, sitting for portrait after portrait while Kagome fiddled with the lenses and the apertures and the height of the tripod. And all the while, people told her mother: don’t humor her like this, it’s just a hobby, and nothing will come of it. But her mother continued to smile, and continued to buy Kagome accessories, new cameras—whatever Kagome needed. And later, when Kagome got a part-time job working in a photo shop, and then decided to major in photojournalism, her mother continued to support her, letting her take internships all over the country, so that Kagome could hone her skills and could eventually work for a national magazine. And some of those internship assignments, to be honest? If her mother knew about them (photography while bungee jumping and skydiving; photography on speedways in the midst of races), she probably would have forbade Kagome from doing them. But, her mother was a silent cheerleader through all of it, and along the way, Kagome had discovered that she had another itch that needed scratching, besides photography: </p>
<p>The thrill. The thrill of the chase, of the perfect photograph: at 10,000 feet in the sky; at 100 feet below sea level; on the ground at a horse racing track; behind the scenes at a boxing match. </p>
<p>And now, at <em> Jidai</em>, one of the biggest weekly news magazines in the country, Kagome got to scratch both her itches. Kagura liked to send her all over the United States, on all kinds of dangerous assignments. And while Denali had certainly been scary at times, Kagome had not been alone, and a certain sexy wolf demon had done well protecting her. In fact, the most dangerous assignment she’d been on was covering surfers off the coast of Carmel, California. She’d been out in a boat, taking photos, and then the surfers had insisted that they teach her how to surf, her waterproof camera around her neck. Yeah...the wipeouts on that trip? The near encounter with a shark? That had been the most terrifying...and the most exhilarating. </p>
<p>“Hey, Kagome!” Kagome stepped off the elevator onto the 22nd floor and was greeted by Shippo; his light green sweater perfectly offset his emerald eyes, which were bright and sparkling for so early in the morning. “Good to see you at this hour,” he added, handing her a cup of coffee.</p>
<p>“Shippo,” Kagome breathed, accepting the coffee and taking a sip, “you’re a lifesaver.” Together they walked down the hall towards Kagura’s office, nodding and stopping to chat briefly with people they knew. “So,” she added when they rounded the corner towards Kagura’s large suite, “do you know what all the fuss is about?”</p>
<p>“Hell if I know,” Shippo shrugged. “Looks like maybe we got some kind of new assignment?” </p>
<p>“Maybe?” Kagome was thrumming with the promise of something new, but she wasn’t completely sure she was ready for it. Kagome was, after all, still working on the Denali photos, and Kagura tried not to give Kagome and Shippo assignments on top of each other, so that they had plenty of time to work on each one and make sure their deliverables were top-notch. If there <em> was </em>another assignment coming, Kagome was maybe going to be a little bit grouchy, because this would speed up their timeline.</p>
<p>Shippo knocked on Kagura’s door, and at a crisp “Come in!” he shot a look at Kagome, who took a deep breath and nodded. Shippo turned the handle, and pushed open the door.</p>
<p>“Ah, Shippo! And Kagome!” Kagura’s voice washed over them. “Come on in, you two! And hurry!”</p>
<p>Shippo held the door open for Kagome, who walked in first. “Close the door, Shippo, if you please,” said Kagura, and Shippo immediately obeyed. Kagura waved them over to her desk, and rose, crossing her arms and looking at both of them hard. </p>
<p>“I’m so glad you were both able to make it to such an early meeting,” she said. “I have some news for you.”</p>
<p>“News?” said Kagome and Shippo together. They chanced a quick glance at each other, and then looked back at Kagura, who was now looking down at her laptop and typing quickly. </p>
<p>“News,” Kagura agreed. She clicked the button on her laptop, then picked up a file folder that was next to her desk. “I have an assignment for you. End of the week. You’ll have time to do a little research, but I’ll need you in Norman by Friday.” </p>
<p>“A new assignment?” Kagome burst out. “But, Kagura, I’m still working on processing the Denali photos…”</p>
<p>“And you will finish those before you leave, Kagome,” Kagura finished. “I need them ASAP anyway if we’re going to put that story in the next issue. Shippo’s already written the material; he’ll send you the article, and the two of you can figure out which photos you want to include. It’ll be faster that way,” she added, “so don’t give me any bullshit about artistic integrity, etc.” </p>
<p>“Kagura,” Kagome protested, “I really need more time.”</p>
<p>“And you have until Thursday,” Kagura said, “because you need to be in Norman on Friday.”</p>
<p>“Norman?” asked Shippo. “As in, Norman, Oklahoma?”</p>
<p>Kagome inwardly groaned. <em> Bumfuck, Oklahoma</em>? This was getting worse all the time.</p>
<p>“Norman, Oklahoma,” Kagura agreed. “Look in the folder.” She handed the folder to Kagome, who opened it reluctantly, balancing it with her coffee, Shippo peering over her shoulder. Together, they looked at its contents; Kagome gasped, and Shippo clapped his hand over his mouth.</p>
<p>
  <a href="https://fawn-eyed-girl.tumblr.com/post/640767046718783488/chasing-the-vortex-chapter-3-now-live-on-ao3">  </a>
</p>
<p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a></p><hr/>
<p>“You can’t mean that you want us to…” Kagome began.</p>
<p>“I do,” Kagura smiled. “Tornado Alley. A story on the University of Oklahoma Meteorology Department, featuring the department chair, Professor Totosai, and his efforts to start a local weather institute. Apparently the local government is giving them a hard time with getting all their ducks in a row, so to speak, so we come in, run a story on all the good that they’re doing down there in terms of predicting tornadoes…”</p>
<p>“And we get a fucking huge scoop—front row seats to watch some of the best tornado chasers in the country at work,” Shippo finished, nodding profusely.</p>
<p>“Bingo.” Kagura snapped her fingers at him.</p>
<p>“Tornado chasing?” Kagome asked, her interest piqued, but still a little grumpy that she was going to have to finish her editing on a faster schedule than she was expecting. “I <em> guess </em> that could be a good assignment.”</p>
<p>“You have no idea, Kagome,” Kagura assured her. “Now, keep looking in the folder, and tell me what else you see.” </p>
<p>Kagome frowned, and rifled through the folder. She saw a list of the faculty and grad students, and, doing a quick scan, saw that they looked pretty run-of-the-mill for science grad students. One guy—one Inuyasha Taisho—didn’t even bother having a profile pic; his was just a tornado. She scoffed; yup, these people needed her help, all right. With portraits, for sure: the one of Professor Totosai was especially horrifying. </p>
<p>But then, Kagome flipped the page, and positively <em> gasped</em>.</p>
<p>“These…” Kagome said in a low voice, “<em>who took these</em>?”</p>
<p>Kagura chuckled. “Now you know why we need you there, Kagome,” she said.</p>
<p>Shippo peered over her shoulder and made an audible sound of disgust. “Holy hell,” he groused, “who <em> do </em>they have taking these photos?”</p>
<p>“That would be one Inuyasha Taisho,” Kagura said. “PhD student in Meteorology. Best storm chaser they have.”</p>
<p>“But <em> clearly </em> a shitty photographer.” Suddenly it was <em> very </em> apparent to Kagome why he didn’t have his own profile pic. Because he sucked as a photographer.</p>
<p>“<em>Clearly</em>,” Shippo agreed, looking over Kagome’s shoulder with disgust.</p>
<p>The photo was...well. The tornado itself? <em> Stunning</em>. It was a series of swirls, gray and white from where the sand had been picked up by the wind: surely one of the most beautiful things Kagome had ever seen. But the framing? The aperture?</p>
<p>“Holy shit, Kagura,” she said, “<em>Look at that tornado</em>.” She gestured at the winds, how they were roping around so beautifully. “It’s so, so gorgeous.” And, before she knew it, she felt the itch starting, in the back of her brain. She felt it, and she knew: this was something she wanted to do.</p>
<p>“Kagura,” she added urgently, her enthusiasm mounting, “yes, YES, I am <em> so freaking totally in</em>. I mean, look at this!” She gestured again at the photo. “GOD, Kagura, how was I <em> not </em> there? Look at that tornado!” She was repeating herself; she knew this. But the thought of getting close to tornadoes like <em> this one</em>? Kagome quickly considered what she knew about tornado chasing. A race against time, against nature: lives in the balance, lives in danger. </p>
<p>It was the <em> perfect </em> assignment for her.<br/>
Plus, the photography <em> sucked</em>. </p>
<p>She could nearly <em> taste </em> the Pulitzer. Yup, she may have now been salivating, just a little, at the prospect of this assignment.</p>
<p>Kagome ran her fingers gently over the photo in her hand. “Yeah,” she said, her voice quaking in her eagerness, “I mean, this is one of the most gorgeous tornadoes I’ve ever seen. But the framing? Holy crap, I can’t even crop this to make a good photo!” Kagome looked up at Kagura. “You said this Inuyasha Taisho person, their ‘top tornado chaser,’ is taking the photos?” Kagura nodded, and Kagome scoffed. “Please. You can’t have a scientist taking photos for this kind of project.” Her face set. “This assignment 100% needs me. And 100% needs Shippo.” She turned and looked at Shippo; he nodded, and she felt the excitement starting to bubble up inside her again. </p>
<p>“All right, Kagura,” Kagome said, “I’ll get my work done, and pack for Norman.”</p>
<p>“We’ll have our research done by Friday, too,” Shippo added. “Why don’t you have travel book our flight, Kagura, and let us know our schedules?”</p>
<p>Kagura nodded, grinning, and Kagome knew that her editor could taste the Pulitzer possibilities on this story, too. “I’m glad you two are excited,” Kagura said. “I think this could be huge for both of you.”</p>
<p>Kagome grinned back, and flipped back through the pages in the folder one last time. She saw the faculty and graduate student page again, and paused there. She traced her fingers over the paper carefully, coming to rest at the profile of one Inuyasha Taisho, Mr. Tornado Chaser himself.</p>
<p>“Oh, Inuyasha Taisho,” Kagome said softly, tracing the letters of his name. “Are you gonna be in for a rude awakening. I am gonna <em> school you </em>on photographing tornadoes.”</p><hr/>
<p>The car dropped Kagome and Shippo off on the south side of the University of Oklahoma campus, at the School of Meteorology. Kagome hefted her camera bag over her shoulder, and turned to Shippo, who nodded briefly and flashed her a smile. Apparently Professor Totosai was supposed to meet them outside the nondescript, red brick academic building, but they didn’t see anyone who looked like the professor waiting. </p>
<p>“So...do we just wait?” Shippo asked, frowning. “Or…”</p>
<p>The doors to the building opened, and Kagome and Shippo looked over. They saw an older man, his white hair pulled back in a short ponytail, and his white mustache and tiny beard carefully trimmed, toddle out of the building and towards them. Shippo nudged Kagome, and they pulled themselves upright, trying to look official. </p>
<p>“Kagome Higurashi?” the man said, approaching them. “And “Shippo Midori?” When they both nodded, he smiled. “Totosai,” he said, holding out his hand and shaking each of theirs in turn. “Welcome to the School of Meteorology,” he added. “I’ll take you upstairs, introduce you to the team.”</p>
<p>“Great!” Kagome said enthusiastically. “We’re looking forward to it.” Totosai nodded; he led them into the building, and up to the second floor. Along the way, he gave them a brief overview of what they’d be doing over the next week or so.</p>
<p>“We’re trying to drum up local support for our new weather institute,” he informed them. “We need an article from a human interest standpoint: what we’re doing, how we’re helping the community, predicting and chasing storms, that sort of thing. Why the institute will be beneficial for the community. But in order to do that…”</p>
<p>“You need decent photos, and a good story,” Shippo concluded.</p>
<p>“We need amazing photos, and an amazing story,” Totosai emphasized. </p>
<p>“Then you’re in luck,” Kagome said, “because we’re the best.”</p>
<p>“I know you are,” Totosai agreed. “Personally, I’m excited to see what the two of you do over the next week or so.”</p>
<p>Totosai led them down a hallway that was peppered with maps covered with pins and strings and markers. Kagome’s eyes widened as she took it all in, the excitement growing with every step she took. </p>
<p>She was gonna...be chasing <em> tornadoes</em>. Like, in a truck, racing after them, releasing probes, investigating supercells. She could feel the itch starting to chafe; she could feel the urge, the thrill, starting to take hold. Every step forward was a step closer to a new and dangerous adventure, one that Kagome found she was increasingly exhilarated to embrace.</p>
<p>“My office is down this way at the end,” Totosai said. “We’ll stop there and I can review with you what we’ll be doing over the next couple of days.”</p>
<p>Kagome and Shippo followed Totosai to the end of the hall. There, Totosai paused in front of a door with his name emblazoned on it in gold emboss, and he turned the knob to let himself inside.</p>
<p>“Oi, ya old Ox,” said a gruff voice, “took ya fucking long enough! We need to talk about tomorrow’s weather. I’ve been tracking three potential cells…” The voice paused when Totosai let Kagome and Shippo into the office. Kagome blinked, and gaped a little, because she was genuinely surprised to see who was perched on the edge of Totosai’s desk, his boots digging into the back of a wooden chair.</p>
<p>“Inuyasha,” Totosai sighed. He turned to Kagome and Shippo. “Inuyasha Taisho, one of my PhD students and our best storm chaser, meet Shippo Midori and Kagome Higurashi, the reporter and photographer who will be joining us for the next few chases. Shippo will be riding with me, and Kagome…”</p>
<p>“Will be with me.” The young man’s voice was hard, and Kagome’s eyes immediately narrowed at his tone. Clearly, he was <em> not </em>interested in having her ride along with him. </p>
<p>Kagome stood up straight, and took the young man in. He was tall, and broad-shouldered; his long silver hair was tied up in a thick bun, with a few hairs escaping around his face. His well-muscled arms stood out against his red t-shirt, and he wore a purple and white beaded necklace. Kagome’s eyes grew wide when she saw his triangular, silver-furred, puppy dog ears that sat perched atop his head—ones that were holding steady in her direction—and his fierce, golden eyes, the color of molten lava. </p>
<p>Holy hell. Inuyasha Taisho was...a demon? A half-demon? A ridiculously handsome, strong, <em> sexy</em>, demon or half-demon.</p>
<p>And...a ridiculously <em> awful </em> photographer.</p>
<p>“Kagome Higurashi,” she said, holding out her hand to him confidently. “Photojournalist with <em> Jidai </em>magazine. It will be my honor and pleasure to get to ride alongside you over the next few days.”</p>
<p>She saw his golden eyes widen when he looked her over; she felt his gaze start at her boots, drag itself up her leggings, over her skirt, her tank top, and finally, to her face. She took a slow, quiet breath, keeping a careful, even smile on her face. At long last, he held out his hand and took hers; she felt his claws lightly pricking her skin. </p>
<p>“Inuyasha Taisho,” he said at last. “I’m the best fucking storm chaser there is. <em> And </em> a good photographer.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Kagome replied, still holding his hand firmly, “I’ve seen your work, and I beg to differ. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s <em> why </em> Professor Totosai has asked that I ride along.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Inuyasha replied, gripping her hand even more firmly,  “I think that the old Ox over there? He’ll be the judge of that.”</p>
<p>“So will my readers,” Kagome said, still gripping his hand. </p>
<p>Inuyasha’s eyes bored into hers, but she refused to yield. And so they stood, shaking hands, glaring at each other viciously.</p>
<p><em> Oh, </em> Kagome thought to herself, <em> you are in for one HELL of a wakeup call when it comes to your photography, Inuyasha Taisho.  </em></p>
<p>
  <em> And...when it comes to me. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So Inuyasha and Kagome have finally met, face-to-face! How will they get along? What's that first ridealong going to be like? Find out all this, and more, at the next update, which will be in two weeks! Thanks everyone, and until then, stay safe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ride-Along</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Inuyasha and Kagome have their first day together on the chase.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The day was going to be a bust. He knew it, the old Ox knew it; the only person who <em>didn’t</em> seem to know it was Kagome-<em>fucking</em>-Higurashi. The fucking ‘photojournalist’ from Chicago that Totosai had forced into his life. The woman who smelled—<em>fuck</em>—like lilacs and fresh rain.</p><p>And he was stuck in the fucking car for her for fucking hours driving down to Lubbock, Texas, to a storm squall that was not going to produce jack <em>shit</em> because <em>Totosai</em> wanted to make sure that they ‘made the most of the time the <em>Jidai</em> journalists were in town.’ It didn’t fucking <em>matter</em> that they were driving to nowhere to see <em>nothing</em>, because it ‘showed them the ropes.’</p><p>“Where are we headed?” The stupid woman didn’t talk so much as <em>chirp</em>.</p><p>“Lubbock.” Inuyasha grunted.<br/>
<br/>
He challenged himself to answer anything she asked him with a single word. Maybe that would make her give up on talking to him. Because he’d already said too many fucking words to her.</p><p>His photography was fucking <em>fine</em>.</p><p>“Are there good storms down there?” Kagome asked, turning her luminous gray eyes toward him; they were the same color as the perfect wall cloud. He growled at himself for even noticing such a thing.</p><p>“No.” One-word answers were much easier than staying silent.</p><p>A little crease appeared on the edge of Kagome’s lips, but a second later she’d swallowed down the frown that had wanted to manifest. It made Inuyasha internally smirk. He’d made over a dozen graduate students cry; how hard could one damn photographer <em>be</em>?</p><p>“Hm,” Kagome scoffed. “Then why are we driving 6 hours for a destination that you don’t believe will produce tornadoes?”</p><p>“Ask Totosai.” <em>Damn.</em> That was two words.</p><p>“He seemed optimistic that—” Kagome started.</p><p>“He’s wrong.” Two words again, but at least he interrupted her.</p><p>Kagome huffed, but went silent, as if she was assessing things. It had the same energy as their first standoff. But then, like now, Inuyasha wouldn’t give in. He was her fucking sherpa to get her to her fucking tornado. And he would do it because Totosai had asked. But that didn’t mean he needed to be nice, or even fucking polite.</p><p>Not when she insulted him the first time they met.<br/>
(...okay fine that was on him too.)<br/>
Not when she plastered on that fake smile and feigned interest in storms.<br/>
(...she was just there to get the shot… which was her job.)<br/>
Not when… not when… she <em>smelled like lilacs and fresh rain</em>.<br/>
Being an ass was just easier.</p><p>“Maybe… maybe you could explain to me why you think this is fruitless?” Kagome’s voice softened, but it was still clear and confident.</p><p>Inuyasha growled. He could have said that the models that ran overnight showed that the conditions just weren’t turbulent enough to really rile up the storms. That the ensemble forecasting was predicting a 10% chance of tornado <em>conditions</em> in that damn storm near Lubbock, and that they were driving there because by the time the storms had moved northeast, they would have degraded too much. He could talk Kagome through what he looked for in the radar and the atmospheric models, but she wasn’t there for a fucking science lesson. She probably could give two <em>shits</em> about the science behind the storms.</p><p>“Science,” Inuyasha answered.</p><p>“Well, yeah. <em>Science</em>. I’m not dumb.” Kagome scowled; Inuyasha may have grinned again to hear the hostility in her voice. “Come on. I’m a journalist too. Tell me <em>why</em>.”</p><p>“What, so you can write about how we’re driving to Bumfuck for no good fucking reason because I disagree with my advisor?” Inuyasha roared. “No thanks.”</p><p>“Or <em>maybe</em>...” Kagome’s voice had an edge of venom to it. Inuyasha liked her hostility a whole lot more than her fakeness. “I am genuinely interested in why we’re driving to nowhere when you don’t think there will be a tornado. Because I take my assignments seriously.”</p><p>“Keh.” Inuyasha scoffed. He didn’t want to talk to Kagome Higurashi. He didn’t want to smell Kagome Higurashi. He wanted to drive her away so she’d bother someone else on the science team. Someone who was chipper. Someone like Akitoki Hojo.</p><p>No.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Fuck</em>, picturing Kagome giggling with that blank-eyed walking smiley face sign made him even sicker than being stuck with her.</p><p>When Kagome let out a labored sigh, Inuyasha grinned, this time <em>outwardly</em>.</p><p>“Suit yourself,” Kagome shrugged. But then she turned and her storm-gray eyes flashed dangerously at him. “But I <em>am</em> here to do a job. And I am going to do a <em>good job</em>. So helping me do it doesn’t just help me, it also helps <em>you</em>. And <em>Totosai</em>. And <em>Hakurei Weather Institute</em>.”</p><p>“How many hours did you put into rehearsing that one, dutchess?” Inuyasha countered, not happy at all to see Kagome’s eyes dart up at the top of his head; his fucking ears were probably pinned back.</p><p>“<em>You</em> asked <em>us</em> to come out here!” Kagome growled, a spicy edge of anger coming into her scent; Inuyasha hated that he liked it. “I did my homework <em>I-nu-ya-sha</em>. I <em>know</em> why we’re here. Because Totosai needs local and state support to get the weather institute through. So do <em>Totosai</em> the favor of humoring me. Because me doing the best job I can also helps <em>him </em>get what he wants.”</p><p>“<em>I </em>didn’t ask you to do <em>anything</em>, and you know <em>jack shit</em>,” Inuyasha snarled. How fucking <em>dare</em> she sit there and claim that Totosai was doing what he was doing only because he wanted a big-ass weather institute. “You know <em>why</em> he’s so desperate to get the Hakurei Weather Institute? Why he is putting me through dealing with <em>you</em>? Because people fucking <em>die</em> every year because we’re still kinda shit at predicting tornadoes. And people having even another <em>ten fucking minutes</em> to prepare will save lives.”</p><p>“Did I <em>say</em> that I—” Kagome started, her eyes now as tempestuous as Inuyasha’s favorite storms (<em>fuck</em> he needed to stop associating things about Kagome with things he liked…).</p><p>“You didn’t need to say it. It was <em>implied</em>,” Inuyasha broke in. “This ain’t about money. And if you’re comin’ in here thinkin’ you’re gonna win a fucking Pulitzer showing off pretty tornadoes and the art of the chase, you already missed the point.”</p><p>“Then what is the point?” Kagome asked quietly.</p><p>“To get better. To predict better. To warn people when they’re comin’ and figure out how to better protect people when they come,” Inuyasha answered. “And <em>today</em>, all the models said that the atmosphere is too stable to make the real big-ass supercells that rotate enough to drop tornadoes. But the old Ox wants to make the most of your and Shippo’s time. To talk the fox’s ear off I imagine, that we’re chasing ghosts.”</p><p>Kagome didn’t retort, she simply nodded. But when Inuyasha looked over, he could see a content little smile on her face. <em>Fucking Kagome Higurashi got him</em>.</p><p>
<a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/642327831679025152/art-for-chapter-4-of-chasing-the-vortex-the-story">

</a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>Inuyasha wanted to take a dig. Say something about her materialistic eyes-on-the-prize only bullshit existence and how he wasn’t going to let her use him for the story, but if he said a single word, she would win. And he wasn’t going to let her fucking win.</p><p>Inuyasha leaned forward and turned on his Jeep’s radio, which was already synched to his phone’s playlist. When Led Zeppelin came on, Inuyasha exhaled. Maybe music would keep Kagome from talking anymore, and they could drive to the dead fucking storms without having to say a single additional word.</p><p>“Immigrant Song.” Kagome commented, “Good song.”</p><p>Apparently Kagome had other ideas about the whole ‘drive in silence’ plan. And apparently Kagome… had decent taste in music.</p><p>Inuyasha grunted in response. When he made no motion to continue the conversation, Kagome pulled her phone out of her pocket and began typing, abandoning any further attempts to engage with him. It was better that way. Inuyasha wasn’t a <em>people person</em>. He wasn’t the one who should be interviewed for a magazine or the one who could charm somebody into giving him something he wanted. <em>Shit</em>, he couldn’t even convince Kikyo to stay with him until he finished his Ph.D.</p><p>He was the guy who could find the tornadoes.<br/>
And that was the role that he liked.<br/>
And his photography was <em>fucking fine</em>.</p><p>As they continued down the highway, Inuyasha listened to the playlist, resisting the urge to tap on the steering wheel to “Bohemian Rhapsody”, or start singing “Don’t Stop Believin’”, because the last thing he wanted was to give Kagome some reason to pay attention to <em>him</em> again instead of her phone. He didn’t like that she was throwing glances at him periodically, or how sometimes her chest would puff up slightly as if she was going to say something, and then sink once more. He didn’t want to notice her. He didn’t want her scent to weave a spell around him as they drove. He just wanted to do his job and be done with this fucking assignment.</p><p>“Inuyasha?” Kagome finally broke the fucking silence—Inuyasha tried not to groan. “I need to pee.”</p><p>“Are you shitting me?” Inuyasha was <em>not</em> in the mood.</p><p>He didn’t want to stop the pointless journey to the pointless storms, if only because it would mean he would get to turn around sooner and go home sooner and forget the fucking day and the girl in his car <em>sooner</em>.</p><p>“Unless you want me to piss on your nice leather seats, no I am not shitting you,” Kagome deadpanned. “There’s a gas station in a few miles. I’ll be quick.”</p><p>“Whatever,” Inuyasha grumbled. “Not like we’re in any sort of hurry.”<br/>
(Not to those storms, anyway.)</p><p>“Totosai and Shippo are not too far behind us. Maybe we could also grab lunch,” Kagome suggested, a little too easily.</p><p>“Did the fox or the ox put you up to this?” Inuyasha snapped.</p><p>“My <em>bladder</em> put me up to this,” Kagome snapped back. “But now that you mention it, <em>yes</em>. Shippo and Totosai are ready to grab some food. And so am I.” Kagome then turned her sharp eyes directly at Inuyasha, “And as you said, <em>we’re not in any sort of hurry.</em>”</p><p>Inuyasha hated Kagome Higurashi.<br/>
And he hated Totosai.<br/>
And he hated Shippo (even though he didn’t really know Shippo).</p><p>“Then can your bladder wait until we get to a diner?” Inuyasha growled.</p><p>“Gas station is across the street from the diner,” Kagome countered, and that fucking grin he absolutely hated came back on her face.</p><p>“So much for ‘I’ll be quick,’” Inuyasha mocked.</p><p>“I’ll be quick <em>peeing</em>. Not <em>eating</em>,” Kagome smirked. “Are you sure you’re not the type who gets grumpy when he doesn’t eat?”</p><p>“I get ‘grumpy’ when someone like you decides to fuck with me, <em>dutchess</em>.” Inuyasha was having trouble controlling his temper; he needed to calm down. So he thought about the tornado in White Sands, the one that he was the only one who saw.</p><p>“Well, if it matters, it was Totosai’s idea.” Kagome’s face dropped the smirk. “Something about the place having really good burgers.”</p><p>“So why not just say ‘hey Inuyasha, your advisor wants to go to the burger place up the road for food. Let’s stop there,’” Inuyasha challenged. He really <em>really</em> hated feeling handled.</p><p>“Because I <em>do</em> have to pee,” Kagome countered. “And because… you’re kind of an ass.”</p><p>“No. fucking. shit,” Inuyasha replied. “But still doesn’t answer the question.”</p><p>“Oh I don’t know, probably because I thought something <em>exactly like this</em> would happen if I <em>started</em> with the ‘let’s stop and eat food even though you hate everything’,” Kagome snapped. “So… I built up to it.”</p><p>“Don’t build up to it next time,” Inuyasha said. “Makes you seem fake.”</p><p>“You don’t like me much, huh?” Kagome turned her face away from Inuyasha, staring out the window at the flatlands of north Texas.</p><p>“I don’t like anybody,” Inuyasha answered.</p><p>“Good to know,” Kagome said, and that was the last word she said to him as they completed the drive to the diner that apparently Totosai had conspired to make him eat at.</p><p>Kagome, true to her word, jumped out of the Jeep the moment it was parked and jogged into the little burger joint to pee. Inuyasha debated jumping back into the Jeep and driving back to Norman, but the Ox would have his balls if he pulled shit like that.</p><p>There was just something about Kagome. She got under his skin. She made him want to talk to her, and made him want to yell at her. Her scent was already imprinting itself on his mind in that unavoidable way that happened to him with Kikyo, but yet it was somehow deeper, somehow even more intoxicating. He didn’t like that she knew how to handle him, and she was not afraid to call, or be called, on bullshit.</p><p>Fuck; he needed to get away from her. Or at least, he needed to push her away, make her hate him as much as he could. He wanted to be treated like a tool, a means to an end, the mule she would ride to a perfect tornado. And he didn’t miss the way she winced when he accused her of chasing the Pulitzer.</p><p>So he had to decide. Shut her out or fight to get under <em>her</em> skin, make <em>her</em> want to get away from him as desperately as he wanted to get away from <em>her</em>?</p><p>“Inuyasha!” The familiar rasp of the Ox cut Inuyasha’s thoughts off. “Where’s Kagome?”</p><p>“Inside,” Inuyasha answered; back to challenging himself to utter only a single word in reply to anyone.</p><p>“Well then let’s go!” Totosai gestured at Inuyasha, then turned to the ginger fox demon next to him. “Tornado chasing might not bring us into big cities (we sure hope not!), but I know of every secret watering hole in the entirety of the heartland at this point. This place, just order the burger.”</p><p>Inuyasha growled. Totosai was laying it on <em>thick</em>. No <em>wonder</em> Kagome had such a fucked up view of what they were trying to accomplish.</p><p>“You’re telling me that this tiny place can compete with <em>Chicago</em>?” Shippo scoffed playfully. “The city of red meat?”</p><p>“If it’s not one of the top ten burgers in your life, I’m buyin’,” Totosai chuckled.</p><p>“You’re on Ox!” Shippo shot back.</p><p>They were <em>bantering</em>. This wasn’t Totosai laying it on. This was… Totosai having a <em>genuine conversation </em>with the fox. Was… Inuyasha wrong about this? Wrong about why Kagome and Shippo were there?</p><p>Inuyasha stayed quiet through the meal, letting the conversation between Kagome, Shippo, and Totosai flow around him (Shippo conceded that the burger was ‘top ten’, but not ‘top five’). As the trio swapped stories of their most dangerous assignments, Inuyasha tried to remain disaffected, disinterested (and he’d heard the old Ox tell the story of being chased down the road by a tornado a dozen times), but when Kagome’s eyes lit up and she regaled the tale of the time she came face-to-face with a great white shark, something in his stomach twisted.</p><p>“What about you, Inuyasha?” Kagome leaned forward onto the table, making eye contact.</p><p>“I don’t get myself into dangerous situations,” Inuyasha dodged.</p><p>He sure as fuck wasn’t going to talk about his close call: the tornado that almost got him because his dumb ass decided to go out chasing the day Kikyo moved out. He wasn’t going to talk about punching out a window as the car rolled, throwing himself onto the ground moments before a fencepost would have impaled him.</p><p>“That’s why you’re stuck with him Kagome,” Totosai chuckled. “He knows how to get close, but never too close.”</p><p>Inuyasha had never told Totosai about his close call. He’d lied and said that Kikyo had taken the car.</p><p>“Close but not too close,” Kagome nodded, then turned her eyes back to Inuyasha. “Apt.”</p><p>“Keh.” Inuyasha watched as Kagome’s eyes trailed up to his ears again.<br/>
He really really needed to get away from her.</p><p>“Speaking of… time to get back on the road!” Totosai slapped his knees and stood up. “I’ll get the check.”</p><p>“But… top ten!” Shippo shouted, a grin so bright it bared his fangs.</p><p>“Double or nothing for the next restaurant,” Totosai called back. “If it’s another top ten, <em>you pay!</em>”</p><p>“You’re on,” Shippo winked.</p><p>Lunch with the journalists and Totosai was… <em>not</em> what he was expecting. The conversation shifted naturally between tornadoes, food, football, and the heartland. It was as if… Shippo and Kagome had already <em>bought in</em> to Totosai’s vision. As if… they <em>understood</em> that Totosai was trying to help people, to <em>save people</em>. And that the Hakurei Weather Institute was <em>a public service</em>, not a money grab.</p><p>“You ready to catch some pointless storms?” Kagome nudged Inuyasha’s arm, causing him to jump.</p><p>“Are you gonna need to pee again?” Inuyasha smiled.<br/>
Fuck. He smiled. He wasn’t supposed to smile. Not when Kagome made him crazy.</p><p>“I bought a bottle from the gas station. I can just pee in that.” Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.</p><p>He wasn’t going to laugh. He <em>fucking</em> wasn’t going to laugh.</p><p>When they got back into the car, Inuyasha dove for the radio. He couldn’t handle trying to talk to her anymore. The city slicker journalists were supposed to be in it for the money, for the <em>Pulitzer</em>, and maybe that was still true. But… maybe, just <em>maybe</em>, they were in it for other things too. Things that Totosai wanted, things that <em>Inuyasha</em> wanted.</p><p>Kagome continued mostly to spend time typing on her phone, but the silence between them no longer felt strained, it was comfortable. And both of them couldn’t resist humming along to The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes”, or Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” and Inuyasha even found himself drumming on his steering wheel.</p><p>“Kagome… we’re almost there.” Inuyasha pointed at the thunderhead in front of them. “That’s the pointless storm.”</p><p>“It’s <em>beautiful</em>,” Kagome gasped, taking in the billowing white puffs that were rocketing into the atmosphere, and spreading out into an anvil. Periodically it also lit up with a flash of lightning. “Can we get a little closer?”</p><p>“It’s not gonna give you what you want,” Inuyasha sighed; he’d checked the model on his phone. It had degraded even further since lunch.</p><p>“Who’s to say the only thing I want is tornadoes?” Kagome answered, turning her glittering eyes fully toward Inuyasha, causing him to smile.</p><p>Yeah, Inuyasha really <em>really </em>needed to get away from Kagome Higurashi.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. You Never Forget Your First</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Inuyasha and Kagome embark on another day of tornado chasing, and he annoys her...a lot. Kagome thinks about her experiences as a photojournalist, why this assignment is so important to her, and later, has an important realization (one that Inuyasha does not miss).</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the manga and/or anime!</p><p>Hello everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of Chasing the Vortex! We hope you're all safe and doing well.</p><p>A special shout-out in this chapter to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruddcatha">Ruddcatha</a>, who, along with Neutron, developed the science for this chapter! Please enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> BANG. BANG. BANG. </em>
</p><p>Kagome sat straight up in bed, her hair falling around her face, a tousled mess. The mysterious thuds ushered her into a rapid wakefulness that made her heart twist and clench and made her grip the sheets in a panic.</p><p>What was that…?</p><p>
  <em> BANG. BANG. BANG. </em>
</p><p>The door. It was the fucking door.</p><p>
  <em> BANG. BANG. BANG. </em>
</p><p>Kagome launched herself from the bed, her mind reeling. The pounding was loud, and insistent. She stumbled anxiously to the door, her heart about to thump right out of her chest.</p><p>Had something happened? Was there a fire? Was Shippo in danger? Was there…?</p><p><em> No</em>. On the other side of the door was Inuyasha Taisho, his fist raised to continue his incessant pounding, his foot raised as though he was ready to barge right into her room. He had apparently frozen when she jerked the door open. She saw his eyes widen as he took her in, and Kagome blinked, clearing away the fog of sleep.</p><p>His eyes… they weren’t on her face anymore…</p><p>No, they were moving down her body, and had stopped to rest on her chest. She’d been up until 3am the night before editing photos, and thrown on a camisole and a pair of boy shorts and tumbled into bed. She became conscious of the fact that, as she’d been scared awake, her entire body was on high alert. And that included her nipples, which she could feel poking the fabric of her top. </p><p>And which Inuyasha was now plainly staring at.</p><p>“What are you <em> doing </em> here?” she asked him, folding her arms over her chest (hiding her nipples from his view) and scowling.</p><p>He blinked, shook his head a little, then pushed past her into the room, as if his joining her <em> in her room </em> was what any rational person would do after nearly breaking down her door.</p><p>“We’ve got to <em> go</em>,” he said insistently. “The models say that there’s a chain of supercells rapidly developing near Wichita Falls. It’s only about two hours from here, so we can get there before shit starts droppin’.” He huffed when she continued to stand, staring at him blankly. “We need to get going, like <em> now</em>. Come <em> on</em>, Kagome.” Inuyasha spun around to leave, but one of his ears stayed focused on her, tracking her movements. When she didn’t instantly follow him, Inuyasha turned back around, glaring at her. “What the <em> fuck </em> are you doing, still standing there?” he yelped.</p><p>Kagome’s mind was slowly becoming lucid. Inuyasha Taisho had barged into her hotel room, and was going on about a supercell, about models? </p><p><em> Oh</em>. A tornado.<br/>He wanted to go chase <em> tornadoes</em>.<br/>Right <em> now</em>.</p><p>“What—what time is it?” she asked, turning her head left and right to work on the kinks in her neck.</p><p>“Why? Are you a fucking vampire?” The level of incredulity in his voice was really starting to annoy her. “It’s already fucking 9am.”</p><p>“In the morning?” She was still trying to decide if this was a dream, and was having trouble conceptualizing. Inuyasha was… standing before her, his (beautiful) golden eyes flashing with impatience, his (muscled) arms crossed over his (equally muscled) chest. One steel-toed boot (attached to a jean-covered leg that Kagome just <em> knew </em> was as toned and strong as the rest of him), tapped impatiently.</p><p>“Yes, Kagome,” he barked, “in the fucking morning. Let’s <em> go</em>!”</p><p>With nothing more than a few gruff words, all the dreamy thoughts about sexy Inuyasha Taisho flew out of her head. The fog around Kagome’s head blew away from Inuyasha’s bluster, leaving her clear, and really…</p><p>Really, really angry.</p><p>Who was <em> he </em> to come <em> banging </em> on her door at 9 o’clock in the morning (which was too early for <em> anything </em> to happen, in her opinion) as if there was some real <em> emergency</em>, nearly scare her to death, ogle her, then barge into her room and demand that she “go” with him?</p><p>Of course, she <em> was </em> going to go with him, but…</p><p>That didn’t mean she couldn’t also show him just how presumptuous she thought that he was acting with the whole “nearly giving her a heart attack by waking her out of a sound sleep” thing. Because she was pissed <em> as hell</em>. And he needed to know it.</p><p>“Well,” she said slowly, dropping her arms and taking an impish moment of pleasure in the way that his eyes immediately went back to her nipples, “I’ll need a little time to get ready.”</p><p>“What—what the—<em>why </em>?” he sputtered, and Kagome inwardly smirked at his sudden nervousness.</p><p>“I need to get <em> dressed</em>, Inuyasha,” she pointed out. “Unless you would rather that I go with you like this?” And she drew her arm up and down the length of her torso, enjoying the way his face twisted and how he was so obviously trying <em> not </em> to look interested. She couldn’t help but be reminded of Denali, and the heated glares she’d gotten from a certain sexy wolf demon those first few days. And what that had turned into.</p><p>“What?” he spat. “No, of course not!”</p><p>“Then,” she added, going over to her suitcase and pulling out some clothes to wear, “are you going to stand there and watch me get dressed? Or do you think that you could give me some privacy?”</p><p>She enjoyed watching the different shades of red that crossed his face, and the way that his hands pressed deeply under his armpits. “Duchess,” he said, clearly trying to keep himself under control, “I’m not leaving just so you can take your sweet-ass time getting ready. So, do ya have a fucking bathroom, or not? <em> Use it</em>.”</p><p>Kagome laughed airily. “Sure, sure,” she said, waving her hand and tucking her clothes under arm. She made sure that the bundle pulled her camisole taut, and tried not to grin as he turned bright red again and whipped his head away at the sight of her breasts, now outlined clearly for him. “I was going to do that anyway,” she added with an extra-vigorous wave of her hand, her breasts jiggling with the added effort. She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Inuyasha fuming next to her bed.</p><p>Kagome took a few moments to wash up and get dressed. Splashing a little cold water on her face definitely helped bring her to life a little bit—but not as much as coffee would. <em> Yeah</em>, she was gonna need to get at least three shots of espresso into her before they got on the road.</p><p>Kagome stared at herself in the mirror, brushing out her hair and thinking about the past few days. Since their arrival in Norman, she and Shippo had gone with Inuyasha and Totosai on one ride—all the way to Lubbock and back, which was ten hours and a fucking nightmare. They hadn’t seen a tornado, and instead of Inuyasha being grumpy about it (which had been what Kagome had expected), he was instead...smug. <em> Really </em> smug. The whole way back from Lubbock, he’d sung along to the music on his phone, a weird, shit-eating grin on his face. It took a while for Kagome to realize that he was doing it because he’d predicted right: that the conditions were shit—at least, that was what she gathered from his “discussion” with Totosai (which seemed to be based entirely on yelling at one another). </p><p>So for Inuyasha to be practically knocking down her door at 9:00 in the morning (<em>so fucking early</em>, she sighed), it probably did mean that he thought something <em> big </em> was going down. He had to have seen something in his models that told him that when they got to Wichita Falls, they would find… <em> a tornado</em>.</p><p>That thought made the little bubble of excitement in Kagome’s chest start to flourish. Today could be her chance, to get the perfect shot, to capture the perfect tornado, on film. Kagome had spent time the week before they arrived in Norman (after editing her Denali shots) scouring the Web for any “professional” shots of tornados that she could find, and the results were largely shit. The best close-ups were by chasers, like Inuyasha, and also, like Inuyasha, they would sometimes get lucky and capture a gorgeous, massive tornado, with gleaming ropes of clouds extending out underneath the wall cloud, but <em> none </em> of the photographs could compare to ones that <em> she </em>could take. Not when she was at the peak of her game… which she felt like, today—with coffee—she would be. Regardless, this was the day she was going to get the chance to show off her skill.</p><p>As Kagome brushed her teeth, her mind began to wander even further, and she allowed herself to fantasize. The perfect tornado would mean the perfect shot. And the perfect shot would mean the perfect article, which would mean…</p><p>Awards.</p><p>Kagome could practically <em> taste </em> the awards—see the plaques, attend the dinners, hold the heavy glass baubles in her hands. The “thanks yous” and the “this was inspired by” speeches were flooding her mind. She could have it all… she <em> wanted </em> to have it all… and today was the first step. She wanted to show that she was the <em> best </em> . That she <em> could </em> earn the top spot with her photography.</p><p>Kagome Higurashi, the number one photojournalist in the fucking country. The one who got the perfect shot of a fucking tornado.</p><p><em> Yes</em>. That would be the way to prove all of them—the professors who had scoffed at her eagerness; the internship directors who had wanted her to cover “soft” events, like dog pageants; and the rival (male) photojournalists who that she was too <em> young</em>, too <em> pretty</em>, to handle the tough assignments, and who spent more time staring at her ass than at her photographs—and goddamn did she want to prove all of them <em> wrong. </em></p><p>But, no matter how excited she was, no matter how the dream of the perfect shot injected a little adrenaline into her veins, the fact remained that Inuyasha had <em> still </em> woken her from a sound sleep, and <em> still </em> made her think that the apocalypse was upon them. And he’d <em> still </em> checked her out, and then barked at her like he was her drill sergeant, like <em> he </em> was the one who commanded <em> her</em>.</p><p>Oh, hell no. Kagome might be looking forward to what the day was going to bring, but… that didn’t mean that she had to let the over-excited half-demon in her hotel room in on that fact…</p><p>Because she didn’t <em> care </em> that Inuyasha was a delectable half-demon with the body of a god, the face of a scowly angel, and the voice with an edge that made her insides burn in that delectable way that made her feel like a predator on the hunt simultaneous to prey being hunted.</p><p>Nope. She was gonna take her time and piss him off. And she was gonna enjoy it every… single… second.</p><p>When Kagome was finished in the bathroom, she found Inuyasha pacing the length of her hotel room, his hands in his jeans pockets, his ears twitching in her direction, as though he’d been listening to everything she had been doing. On a normal day, she might have found that cute and maybe a little sexy? But today, she found it annoying as hell. She half-wished she’d made more audible gurgling sounds as she rinsed out the toothpaste.</p><p>“Oh good—you’re ready,” he said, in a tone that implied anything <em> but </em> good, “took ya long enough.”</p><p>“Hold on a minute,” she said, and went over to the table, where she’d spread out her laptop and equipment. “I need to get my things together. I took out my SD cards last night, and I need to make sure my lenses are packed and ready.”</p><p>“Ain’t got time for that shit.” His hands had journeyed from his pockets to his hips, and Kagome glared at him, irritated.</p><p>“We <em> have </em>to have time for this ‘shit,’ Inuyasha,” she shot back. “This ‘shit’ is what’s going to take the photos that will ultimately help Hakurei Weather Institute—and all the other people out there who need it. You need to give me a minute to sort through everything so I’m sure of what I’m bringing, and what I’m leaving behind.”</p><p>Inuyasha clearly didn’t understand the work that went into taking the perfect shot.</p><p>“You can leave it all behind,” he retorted. “I’ve got my camera.”</p><p><em> What? </em> <em><br/></em> <em> What the what?<br/></em> His <em> camera</em>?<br/>Was he <em> fucking serious</em>?</p><p>Kagome slipped an SD card back into her camera, set it down on the table to stop what she felt coming. She tried to stifle it, she really did, but it was impossible. The first came out as a snort, but then the dam broke. Because once she started laughing, it was too late.</p><p>Did he...did just say that she could use <em> his camera</em>? She had barely known him for two days, but she had seen the dismal excuses for pictures that he’d taken. She just <em> knew </em> that, even if he had a DSLR, the thing was probably so basic that <em> she </em> could never take the shot she needed with it, <em> let alone </em> with whatever sort of sorry starter lens he probably had never even bothered to learn how to unmount. Because she was the professional here. She was the one with the experience, and the hutzpah, to get the job done. Not him, and he didn’t seem to get that.</p><p>So, <em> no</em>. She needed her full frame. And she needed her lenses, because she didn’t want to presume that all the shots were long or short or in between. There was a <em> reason </em> professional photographers bought the higher end bodies, and she knew her Canon like it was an extension of her hands. But… his ears were drooping and he had wrapped his arms around himself at her laughter, almost enough that she felt sorry. Almost. It was 9am and she had not had coffee, after all. </p><p>“Ummm.” She hesitated, unsure of whether to laugh or be offended. She decided on both.</p><p>“You do realize that I use a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, right?” When he simply gaped at her, she added, “what kind of camera do you use?”</p><p>“Nikon D3500,” he told her, his golden eyes glaring at her defiantly. He was <em> daring </em> her to make fun of his camera, and it was <em> cute</em>, really, how his lips curled into an obstinate smirk. (Okay fine, it was really cute.)</p><p>“<em>Inuyasha</em>.” No <em> wonder </em> his photos were shit. “A starter camera? <em> Really</em>?” She sighed, and heard the tiniest growl coming from him as she worked. “You need a camera that’s higher end for the kind of photos you want to take. Do you use a lens?”</p><p>“Yep. 18-55mm.”</p><p>“Full frame?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p><em> Exactly</em>, she thought.</p><p>“I need my camera, Inuyasha,” she said, still looking at her lenses and trying to decide which combination would give her the best chance of getting that perfect shot. “Just give me a minute.”</p><p>He crossed his arms again and turned away from her. “Fine. Get your shit together, Kagome. Or did you forget that we need to go?”</p><p>“<em>Fine</em>.” She quickly packed two lenses—her 35mm and her 70mm-200mm lenses (she had a nice 17-40mm already mounted on the camera), along with her speedlite (yes, they would be outdoors, but one never knows when one will need a flash), her tripod stick, and her battery grip. She wanted to make sure that she didn’t lose power in the middle of a storm.</p><p>Kagome closed the flap on her camera bag and hoisted it over her shoulder, her wallet and phone tucked away in an inner zipper. “I’m ready,” she said at last.</p><p>“About fucking time,” he groused; she hid a smile at the fact that she’d made him so irritated. “Come on,” he said, going over to the door and opening it, “the Jeep’s parked out front.”</p><p>“Are we going for coffee?” she asked him, following him out of the hotel room and tugging on the handle to make sure the door locked.</p><p>It was Inuyasha’s turn to burst into laughter. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” he guffawed. “You just took like twenty minutes to get yourself together. That’s twenty <em> fewer minutes </em> we have to get to Wichita Falls. <em> No coffee</em>.”</p><p>
  <em> Wait...WHAT? </em>
</p><p>No… no coffee?</p><p>Little did Inuyasha know, but of all the things that he had done—the door banging, the tit-staring, the rushing Kagome out of the hotel room, the camera idiocy—nothing—<em>absolutely nothing</em>—said <em> war </em> to Kagome like the words “no coffee.”</p><hr/><p>The drive to Wichita Falls was largely quiet. Inuyasha blared his music, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel as his head bobbed excitedly to the beats. Kagome stared out of the Jeep, tired, hungry, <em> furious</em>, and uncaffeinated. Because Inuyasha somehow thought that ‘no coffee’ was an appropriate thing to dictate to a woman he’d BANGED out of sleep (and not in the fun way). Kagome wanted to be awake, and excited, and full, and have a nice big takeaway cup of coffee right next to her. But instead, she had nothing. Her mind was fading in and out as she watched the flatlands roll by. </p><p>“Ah shit,” Inuyasha said, drawing Kagome out of her reverie, “I was so amped up about these storms that I forgot to get gas before we left.”</p><p>“So? Stop at a gas station,” Kagome said, settling her head in her hand and looking out again.</p><p>“We’ll have to,” he grumbled.</p><p><em> Good. </em> The man had <em> denied her coffee. He had questioned her photography prowess. He deserved to suffer every inconvenience the universe could throw at him. </em></p><p>Inuyasha stopped at a small gas station off the highway, still swearing softly about supercells and the high risk under his breath as they pulled in. “Do what ya need to do <em> now </em>,” he grunted, then he hopped out of the car to fill the gas tank. Kagome grimaced and grabbed her camera case (in case he decided to leave the Jeep unattended, that camera equipment was worth more than his damn car…). She used the restroom, washed her hands thoroughly, then started back towards the Jeep. But something stopped her. </p><p>A soda machine.</p><p>A soda machine with Coca-Cola in it. With <em> caffeine </em> in it.<br/><br/>Kagome let out a happy cry and rushed towards the machine, practically throwing her arms around it in gratitude. She rifled through her bag, and, pulling out her wallet, produced a dollar. She put the dollar in the machine, pressed the button for a Coke, and listened as the machine grunted and groaned and finally spit out the can. Kagome held the icy aluminum in her hands, relishing it against the heat of the morning, and then, popped open the lid and took a long, luxurious drink.</p><p>The coolness of the beverage shot down her throat and spread into her chest and her belly. She took another sip, and then another, letting the bubbles from the soda tickle her throat on the way down. She heard a gruff throat clearing, and looked up to see Inuyasha sitting in the Jeep, staring at her pointedly.</p><p>“We gotta <em> go</em>, Kagome,” he said peevishly. “Time is tornadoes.”</p><p>“In a minute,” she replied impatiently. “You denied me coffee, and I <em> need </em> some caffeine.”</p><p>“Ya can drink it in the car,” he yelped. “Hurry the fuck up! <em> We need to go.</em>”</p><p>Maybe it was the way that he said it, or maybe it was the cumulative build-up of <em> everything </em> he’d been saying that day, but it made something in Kagome <em> crack</em>. <em> No. Fucking. More</em>. He’d literally scared her out of bed, busted into her room to (very) impatiently wait for her to get ready, then <em> questioning her need </em> to get her camera ready for the ride-along (because he was <em> not </em> a fucking photojournalist with professional equipment), and <em> then denied her coffee</em>. Now, he was trying to hurry her up again? When she finally had some caffeine?</p><p>Oh, <em> hell no. </em></p><p>So she leaned back against the soda machine, raised the can to her lips, and took one big, long, <em> slow </em> sip of soda.</p><p>She nearly snorted it right back out when she saw his eyes nearly bulge out of his head, his face apoplectic in his desire to get going.</p><p>But: Inuyasha had questioned her photography skills, and denied her coffee after a very rude awakening. So she was going to take her sweet-ass time, and he was going to deal with it.</p><p>“The car, Kagome,” he called out, his voice becoming strangled, “<em>now</em>.”</p><p>“Oh,” she replied casually, taking another sip as her insides seared with both anger and satisfaction, “I don’t want to ruin your upholstery with my Coke. You know, we drive over so many bumps and things. I’m almost done, anyway.” Kagome stood perfectly still, enjoying the rush of the caffeine flooding her system as she slowly drank, and the rush of sweet, sweet, vengeance she got from delaying Inuyasha, just a little bit longer.</p><p>By the time she made it back to the car, Inuyasha had already started it, and was grumbling when she got in. She placed her camera bag at her feet, buckled herself in, and turned to him, smiling brightly. “I’m ready!” she said, a Cheshire smile on her face.</p><p>Inuyasha continued to grumble as they drove away, Kagome gleeful and smirking at his consternation. </p><p>They reached Wichita Falls about thirty minutes later. Inuyasha kept an eagle’s eye on the storm cells on his phone, swapping frantically between The Weather Underground and NOAA. Kagome, now much more awake, was not ready to let the events of the morning go. He had made her day a whole hell of a lot of miserable, so she couldn’t help but imagine…</p><p>What if she had to pee every ten minutes, and he had to keep finding her a restroom? <br/>What if they needed to pack and go somewhere, fast, and oops! she just <em> happened </em> to fumble her tripod stick, causing him to trip and fall on his face? <br/>What if she had just <em> happened </em> to spritz on some perfume that morning? (Dang; she’d have to remember that one.)<br/>What if the car had a rattle that only <em> he </em> could hear, and only occasionally?<br/>What if she kept changing the radio station? (What if she bought a <em> dog whistle</em>?)<br/>What if the radar lost connection, and his wifi went out, right when they were hot on the trail of a supercell (okay maybe that one was going too far)?<br/>Or, best of all… What if his starter camera shutter started sticking?</p><p>She settled back into her seat, a smug grin on her face, envisioning all of the ways that his day could suddenly be a mess of minor tragedies that would piss him off to no end.</p><p>“There,” Inuyasha said suddenly, pointing to his phone screen and drawing her attention. “See that cell? It’s starting to rotate—I bet that’s gonna be the first drop. Let’s <em> go! </em>” He cut the wheel and turned down a side road, his foot on the gas, a familiar glint in his eyes as he chased, his eyes now fixed on the cell out the window instead of on his phone’s screen. Kagome was torn between the array of colors that represented the storm on his phone and scanning the horizon, her eyes desperate for even a hint of activity.</p><p>And then, she saw it: a massive cloud structure to the northeast, dropping down below the rotating anvil above it, the bands swirling as the up and downdrafts slammed together. She thought that it must be the wall cloud, extending out from the mesocyclone (she did her research before every assignment).</p><p>“See!” he shouted triumphantly. “Over there!” He pointed off into the distance.</p><p>Inuyasha then swerved the Jeep toward the point on the horizon that was getting him so excited.</p><p>“Inuyasha!” Kagome cried, forgetting to be annoyed with him as she excitedly leaned forward and followed his finger.</p><p>Inuyasha swore loudly, dropped back into his seat, then swerved the Jeep as he shouted, “Buckle the fuck back up, Kagome!” as Kagome clung to the windshield. She sat down and started rifling through her bag as he drove; she could tell he was trying to predict the path of the storm, maybe even a <em> tornado </em>in the storm, so that he’d know just where to place his probes, and she wanted to be ready with her camera. The place he was looking and aiming was gray and ominous, and seemed to be shrouded by… rain?</p><p>Then, just as suddenly as he started careening towards the storm cell, he screeched to a halt, Kagome jolting back and forth across her seat, and he let out a yowl of disappointment. “Just what do you think—” she started to yell.</p><p>“Godfucking<em> dammit</em>!” he shouted. Kagome slammed her mouth shut angrily as she watched him grab the radio and fiddle with the dials. A gravelly voice came over the radio. “Talk to me, Taisho.”</p><p>“It’s fucking <em> rain-wrapped</em>,” Inuyasha growled into the mic, banging his free hand against the dash. “We can’t get close enough, dammit!”</p><p>“Calm down, Inuyasha.” Totosai’s voice was placid, even over the radio. “Where are you?”</p><p>Inuyasha grabbed his phone and scrolled to the map. “We’re on...283...north of Vernon,” he said. </p><p>“Good,” Totosai replied. “Stay put.”</p><p>“But this cell…” </p><p>“<em>This </em> set of cells is definitely slowing down—and you <em> know </em> you’re not gonna chase that thing blind.” Kagome could hear the snappishness in Totosai’s voice, even over the speaker, “—but another squall is about to crash into you. Check the Doppler, Inuyasha. I’m telling you….you need to <em> stay put</em>.”</p><p>“Fucking hell, you old ox,” Inuyasha started.</p><p>“Who has been doing this for longer, Inuyasha?” Totosai barked, his voice scratchy but his impatience clear. “Stay where you are. It looks like you’ve got…” Totosai’s voice faded out for a moment. “Fifteen minutes? Maybe twenty? That area is hot.” He paused. “Keep me posted. Totosai out.”</p><p>Inuyasha hooked the mic back on the receiver. He scowled, and jumped out of the car.</p><p>“What are we…?” Kagome asked, still feeling angry, but also super curious.</p><p>“If you wanna see,” Inuyasha said sharply, “then get out of the car.”</p><p>Grumbling, but her curiosity overpowering her, Kagome got out of the Jeep and circled around to the rear. She watched as Inuyasha opened the back and dug around for a moment. He pulled out a messenger bag, and reached inside to withdraw a large, clunky laptop. </p><p>“Why…” Kagome started, but Inuyasha held up a finger to silence her, and she set her lips in a straight line, pursing them slightly in her frustration. He opened the laptop, and tapped one foot impatiently, waiting for it to boot up. While the laptop made a series of grunts and whirs, he opened the hotspot on his phone, plugging it in.</p><p>“Okay,” he said abruptly, drawing her attention to the screen, “let’s see if the old ox is right.” He clicked a few buttons to connect the internet, then pulled up the output of Totosai’s Doppler truck. “Here,” he said, hooking a clawed finger at the screen, “you can see we’ve got this cell over there—which is the one we can still see—and it’s already drying up. See how it’s changing, from red and yellow, to shades of green?”</p><p>Kagome resisted the <em> very </em> strong urge to say, <em> I know how Doppler works, you ass</em>, and instead just nodded. Inuyasha grunted an acknowledgment, and went on.</p><p>“Well. Looks like the rotation is falling apart too,” Inuyasha said, pulling up a second set of maps, a set Kagome had never seen before. He pointed to a row of rainbow colors that seemed to be in the same place as the existing storm. “That’s a spider diagram. Shows us the velocity of the wind. If it looks all pretty like that, means there’s rotation. The bigger the gradient, the better. This one… looks like the rotation is dying out.”</p><p>Kagome nodded. Apparently she <em> didn’t </em> know everything about how Dopplers worked.</p><p>“What the ox is referring to is up <em> here</em>…” he slid his finger across the screen to the upper left, “and <em> here </em> …” he slid his finger down to the lower left. “Rotation in <em> those </em> is pickin’ up, so… it’s likely they’re gonna be droppin’ something for us soon. And see how they’re traveling? Southeast, and northeast, respectively. So that means that they’re going to meet…”</p><p>“Here.” Kagome jammed her finger in front of his enthusiastically. Inuyasha quirked his eyebrow at her, then shoved her finger out of the way, but she caught the hint of a smile on his lips.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said. “And do you know where <em> here </em> is?”</p><p>Kagome blinked. “Close to here?” she asked.</p><p>Inuyasha nodded. “Pretty fucking close,” he agreed. He snapped the lid of the laptop shut, and shoved it back into the messenger bag. “We’re gonna watch,” he said, “there and there.” His finger pointed from northwest to southwest. “Do you see anything yet?”</p><p>Kagome squinted; the cumulonimbus clouds were absolutely spectacular, but at least then, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Not yet?” she guessed.</p><p>“Wrong!” Inuyasha shouted enthusiastically, making her jump. “They’re still cookin’ but they’re comin’. We need to get fucking ready.” Kagome squinted again, and this time, she could just make out two dark clouds that seemed to be getting closer.</p><p>“They’re gonna be here…” Inuyasha looked down at his phone. “In maybe fifteen minutes.” He climbed into the back of the Jeep, and opened up a trunk, sliding out a short red conical shaped object slightly more than a meter long with plexiglass cutouts through which Kagome could see instruments: a probe. He scanned the horizon, and immediately got to work, opening a hatch on the bottom of the probe then connecting the wire in the compartment to his phone. Inuyasha was activating the probe!</p><p>Kagome leapt into action as well; she ran around to the passenger side of the Jeep, and opened her camera bag, getting out her camera, and the equipment she thought she would need. She quickly swapped in her telephoto lens, and her speedlite, and hooked the tripod stick under her arm. When she came back around to the rear of the Jeep, she saw Inuyasha standing still, watching the supercells, shielding his eyes to get a better read on the trajectories, his head swiveling back and forth as though he were at a tennis match. Kagome moved away from the Jeep by a few meters, and hung her camera around her neck. She set up the tripod stick, set her camera on top of it, and began snapping photos of the converging storms and what looked like the dark extended shelf below the most southeastern cell, and flicking out the bottom, a nipple. <em> A tornado? </em> Inuyasha’s ears flicked in her direction, once, but then he was back to work, turning on his laptop so he could get Totosai’s Doppler readouts, trying to predict the path of the storm; working out <em> where </em> the tornado might drop. Then suddenly, he was off—and holy fuck, he was fast—and Kagome whipped around to follow him as he sprinted up the road, toward the point where the funnel would intercept it.</p><p>Kagome’s heart leapt into her throat as she watched him run, momentarily forgetting that Inuyasha did this for a living, that he regularly ran into storms, while everyone else ran <em> away </em> from them. She nearly called out to him, to tell him to get <em> away</em>, and then she remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him for refusing her coffee and claiming she didn’t <em> need her camera</em>. </p><p>So instead of worrying or resenting, Kagome got to work.</p><p>While Inuyasha was a good distance away, cherry red cone in his arms, Kagome snapped photo after photo, following him with her lens as he raced along the road, sniffing out the perfect spot to place the probe. He stopped, looked up again, checked the sky, and then knelt down, carefully placing the probe on the concrete of the road. He stood—Kagome noticed the winds were picking up now—and looked up at the horizon one last time, where the funnel was teasing the air below the clouds. Kagome took shots of the storm clouds, the wall cloud, and finally the funnel, gasping at the way that it twisted and changed shape, but never made contact with the ground, until finally, the little funnel was swallowed back up and into the sky. She sighed, disappointed in the missed opportunity. But then, as she panned her lens to the <em> other </em> storm cell, she could see the rain line at the base of the newly-formed supercell, and behind it was…</p><p>Behind it the bands of clouds were spinning, and this time…<em>holy fuck</em>…</p><p>“Inuyasha!” Kagome gasped, dropping her camera for one brief second. He was pounding the pavement now, the probe back in his arms, his body flying back to the Jeep. She raised her camera and got a few shots of him running towards her, the wall of rain behind him, and behind that: the second tornado, which was receding into the distance. Inuyasha dashed past her, throwing the probe back into the trunk. He then jumped back into the Jeep, and grabbed the mic and switched on the two-way, shouting for Totosai to pick up. </p><p>Kagome, meanwhile, kept snapping away. She turned her camera on the tripod stick, her eye glued to the viewfinder. She was totally and completely focused on her job. As the tornado began spewing dust and dirt from the ranchland it was traversing, Kagome felt her heart pounding in her chest. The perfect shot was <em> there </em>, somewhere, lurking between the clouds and the ground. She was laser-focused on the weather playing out before her; her camera became an extension of her body; all she could hear and feel was the rush of the wind. Her lens followed the trail of debris from the tornado’s path up the funnel and back to its parent cloud. Her finger was on the shutter; all she could do was snap...snap...adjust her lens, change her position...and snap some more.</p><p>She was so focused on taking pictures that she completely missed Inuyasha’s shouting at Totosai until she heard him swear, <em> loudly</em>, and then he yelled her name. Kagome whipped her head around, the viewfinder of the camera still attached to her eye. </p><p>“Do you not <em> see </em> what’s happening right now?” he barked at her through her lens; he looked slightly warped from the wide-angle telephoto. “Goddammit,” he added, howling and slamming his hand on the steering wheel, “The storm is too far to the north—there are no fucking roads up there. We can’t get a probe on that fucking thing before the storms cancel each other out.” When she stared at him, confused, he marched over to her, and took her camera lens in his hands. </p><p>“If you have to, use your <em> lens</em>, Kagome,” he said, irritated. “And <em> look</em>.” He swiveled the camera lens in the direction of the rapidly-closing gap between the storms. “See that?” he asked her. “That’s where those two fucking storms are about to become one, knockin’ out their rotation for <em> at least </em> the next hour. And <em> that </em>,” here he turned the lens to the right, “is the path of the tornado currently runnin’ away from us. Do you understand now?” He lowered his hands from the lens, but Kagome kept her viewfinder on the supercells, which were, at that very moment, merged. When she looked back to where the tornado had been, all that was left was a cloud of debris.</p><p>“We missed it,” she said, disappointed, lowering her camera at last.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said. “We sure as fuck did.”</p><p>“But we were so <em> close</em>!” she exclaimed, the adrenaline still pumping through her body.</p><p>Kagome thought she saw a soft look cross Inuyasha’s face, but it was quickly replaced by the scowl she had come to know so well. </p><p>“That’s the tornado chasing life, Kagome,” he said, his voice catching slightly. “You catch some, you lose a whole hell of a lot more. And sometimes,” he added, getting ready to go retrieve his probe, “sometimes? You get really fucking lucky, and catch the storm of your life.” And he grabbed the two-way radio to bark some more at Totosai, leaving Kagome staring at him, blinking, wondering why her heart was still pounding so violently, long after the tornado had moved away.</p><hr/><p>“But, Inuyasha,” Kagome groused, “I don’t get it. Why do we have to stop?” </p><p>Her tone was persistent, and she could tell that he didn’t want to answer her, but his lips moved, almost beyond his own ability to react.</p><p>“Totosai wants to go over the plan. Guess the Doppler is confusing the old Ox,” Inuyasha grunted, not looking at her.</p><p>His scowl became deeper and he hit the gas. Kagome huffed, and turned back to stare out of the Jeep, her eyes scanned the horizon for storm clouds. Just in case.</p><p>They had had not one, but <em> two </em> close-calls that day. The first tornado was rain-wrapped; the second, the tornado ran from them and the cells merged; the third, the road had been so broken up it was impossible to place a probe. Since their...moment? (Kagome wasn’t exactly sure what to call it), Inuyasha had returned to his usual cheerful self, snapping at her, playing his music too loud, and periodically yelling at Totosai on the two-way radio (who yelled right back).</p><p>And even though Kagome didn’t <em> really </em> want to stop, not when the perfect shot was so <em> close</em>, but she had to pee again, really badly, and her stomach had been grumbling for the last hour. It was close to 6:00; it was nearly dinnertime, and they had gone all day without eating, save for the power bars that Inuyasha kept stashed in the glove compartment, and the water bottles he kept in the back of the Jeep.</p><p>As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly, and Inuyasha turned one ear towards her.</p><p>“It seems like you’re hungry, too, Kagome,” he commented, veering off the highway and onto a much smaller road. </p><p>“I’m <em> fine</em>,” she said, her teeth gritting slightly. </p><p>Inuyasha chortled. “Your stomach’s been driving me insane for the last two hours,” he said. “We’ll get you some food, Dutchess, don’t you worry your pretty little head.”</p><p>Kagome bristled at his obvious attempt to provoke her, but she had no time for snark, because Inuyasha pulled into a shoddy gas station, alongside the truck that Kagome recognized as Totosai’s.</p><p>“Kagome!” Shippo chirped, coming out of the gas station and making a beeline for the Jeep. “Do you know that we saw <em> three </em> tornadoes today? Can you believe it?” His green eyes shone with excitement. “I got some video, and Totosai said Hojo deployed a probe! It was A. MAZ. ING.” He was practically bouncing with glee. He opened the door for her and Kagome nearly slid out; she hadn’t been on her feet in almost three hours, and her legs were cramped from all the sitting. “You okay?” he asked her, catching her by the elbow.</p><p>“She’s fine,” Inuyasha said bluntly, getting out of the driver’s side. “I’m gonna get gas,” he said to them. “Where’s the old ox?”</p><p>“Was just getting a snack, Inuyasha,” said Totosai, who was also coming out of the gas station. He was carrying a stack of hot dogs, one of which he handed to Shippo. “Be careful there, kitsune,” he said,  “because there are definitely NOT top 10 hot dogs.”</p><p>Shippo barked out a laugh. “You gotta come to Chicago for that, you old ox,” he said, taking the hot dog from Totosai. “Weiner’s Circle dogs are as good as you’re gonna get.”</p><p>“Nah,” said Totosai good-naturedly. “You have to go to Lulu’s for the best in Chicago.”</p><p>Shippo laughed again. “I’ll take that bet,” he said, turning to Kagome. “You <em> sure </em> you’re okay?” he added to her. Kagome realized she’d been dancing around a little; she had to pee <em> so badly</em>.</p><p>“Yeah,” she gasped, “I’ll be back.” And she took off inside, cursing that she’d forgotten to grab her camera equipment, but trusted that there were enough people around Inuyasha’s Jeep that it was fine. Kagome dashed past the register, past the hot dog carousel, and scampered into the women’s room. She finished taking care of her business, washed her hands, and headed back into the store. When she saw the coffee pot, she grabbed the largest size <em> coffee </em> they had, not caring if it was brewed that morning or a week ago, and a doughnut from the bakery case. It felt a <em> little </em> stale, but she didn’t really care. Kagome paid for her meal (old doughnut and old coffee, really), and headed back outside. She found Inuyasha and Totosai huddled just inside Totosai’s DOW truck. Inuyasha had his bulky laptop out, the two of them were animatedly arguing over models and atmospheric turbulence. She ambled over to Shippo, took a sip of her coffee, and grimaced.</p><p>“That bad, huh?” Shippo whispered.</p><p>“It’s coffee?” Kagome shrugged.</p><p>Shippo opened his mouth to say more, but Totosai and Inuyasha’s bickering drew their attention.</p><p>“I’m telling you, Inuyasha,” Totosai was saying, “look at the pressure gradient. The local weather station is reporting a drop in barometric pressure; if you hurry, you’ll be able to catch that one before you head back.”</p><p>“And I’m telling <em> you</em>, old Ox,” Inuyasha snapped back, “the Doppler is picking up some real disturbances in <em> that </em> storm system, in terms of both intensity <em> and </em> windspeed. It’s the surer thing—you know that!” He stood up and snapped the laptop lid shut. “We’re going after that one,” he said definitively, shoving the laptop back in its bag. “Kagome!” he shouted, not bothering to notice her standing off to the side with Shippo. She winced at the decibel level of his voice. “We’re leaving, <em> now</em>.” He slammed the back of the Jeep shut and stalked to the driver’s side, slamming the driver’s door too, just for good measure.</p><p>“Guess I’ll see you back in Norman?” Kagome murmured to Shippo.</p><p>Shippo chuckled and patted her shoulder affectionately. “Have fun,” he teased her, and laughed when she rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Kagome!” Inuyasha said again, more sharply this time.</p><p>Kagome let out a long, loud, suffering sigh. “<em>Okay</em>,” she huffed. “See you,” she said to Shippo, who waved, his mouth full of hot dog. </p><p>“About <em> fucking time</em>.” The impatience in Inuyasha’s voice was palpable as Kagome slid into her seat. She put her coffee in the cup holder, jammed the rest of her doughnut into her mouth, and put on her seat belt. Satisfied that she was properly buckled in, Inuyasha threw the car into drive and took off, Kagome nearly choking on her doughnut as he flew.</p><p>“Next time,” he told her, keeping one eye on his models and the other on the road, “make sure you chew thoroughly.”</p><p>She tried to say, “Fuck you,” but her mouth was so full it came out as “fuff fou,” and he laughed loudly. Kagome took a big sip of her terrible coffee and cleared her throat, watching him follow the Doppler app on his phone as he drove. “Where are we going?” she asked him after a moment.</p><p>“Were you not paying attention?” he snapped.</p><p>Kagome growled. “Not. A. Scientist,” she retorted.</p><p>“Whatever.” He was incredibly short, and Kagome wondered if he was pissed off enough to revert to his failed attempts at one-word answers. He took his hand off the wheel long enough to point to his phone’s screen.</p><p>“See that?” he told her. “That cell is rotating pretty fucking fast. I think we’re gonna get something just before sunset, but we’ve gotta hurry the fuck up to get to it. As it is, I don’t think we’ll get close enough to deploy… but if my prediction is right, we should see something pretty spectacular.”</p><p>Kagome said nothing in reply, but set her coffee down and stared out in the direction of the supercell he’d pointed at as they sped down the highway. Her stomach churned when he jerked the wheel and they turned off the main highway and down a side road, where Inuyasha yelled out “There!” and pointed at the near horizon. Kagome jumped up (Inuyasha shouted at her to “sit,” but she <em> couldn’t help it</em>), and saw, before them, a beautiful, swirling storm cloud, the lowered shelf of the wall cloud prominent against the setting sun. It looked as if, at any moment, a funnel would be dropping out of it.</p><p>“<em>Damn</em>,” Inuyasha sighed. “Too late for probes.” He parked on the side of the little dirt road and hopped out of the Jeep. Kagome got out her equipment and followed after him. </p><p>Inuyasha dashed around to the trunk. He paused, looked up at the sky, grunted, then opened the back, rifling around. Kagome saw him pull something out, and he raced a few meters away from her, eyes scanning the supercell, and he started…</p><p>He started taking fucking <em> pictures</em>.</p><p>Kagome growled. What the fuck did he think that he was doing? Instead of guiding <em> her</em>, the professional photographer, of where to look, he… he just jumped out with his shitty-ass camera to do her job for her? She was there for the pictures—the <em> fucking professional</em>—so he could focus on the science. <em> She </em> would focus on the photography. That was why she’d been brought on (so she thought), but yet here he was, taking photos on his basic-ass Nikon, like he had totally forgotten that she existed. </p><p>“Hey!” Kagome shouted, stalking over to him, “<em>hey! </em>” Inuyasha put down the camera and glared at her, as though he was seeing her for the first time… as though he had completely forgotten that she was there.</p><p>“Dammit!” he growled, pulling the camera down from his face and whirling around to face her. “What do you want?” he snapped.</p><p>“You—you’re—taking pictures,” she choked out.</p><p>“That.” Kagome pointed at his camera, then to the supercell, and then to her own camera. “You’re doing <em> my </em> job, Inuyasha. I’m here to take the photos, so you can do the science things. So, do me a favor and stop treating me like a <em> fucking inconvenience</em>, and treat me like I am at least competent to do my job.”</p><p>Inuyasha blinked and stared at her. “What the fuck, Kagome?” he asked. “This is what I <em> do</em>: I chase a storm, I set up my probes if I can, I take pictures, and I pray that I’m fucking right that I’ve read the tea leaves correctly. That my prediction was right. Pictures are part of the process.” He let out a little growl. “It’s part of <em> my </em> process, Kagome.”</p><p>“But the photos are my <em> job</em>,” she insisted. “Not yours. This is why I’m <em> here</em>.” </p><p>“Fine, it’s why you’re here,” he said, “but you’re missing the fucking point.” </p><p>“Wha—”</p><p>He chuckled, and gently took the camera out of her hands, ran to set it on the back of the Jeep, along with his own, and quickly jogged back. “Look, Kagome,” he said, pointing towards the massive cloud. At the back end of the supercell, Kagome could see the funnel peeking out from under the wall cloud, lit up by the rapidly setting sun.</p><p>Kagome gasped. The ropes of clouds gleamed pink and purple against the sunshine that lingered on the opposite side of the supercell. When the tornado touched the ground, it sent up clouds of dust and earth that got caught in the currents of wind that swirled at its base. It was…</p><p>Well, it was maybe the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. </p><p>Kagome had been to Denali; she had swum with Great White sharks; she had surfed in some of the most dangerous waters in North America. But everytime, she’d been looking at those experiences through the lens of her Canon, with the goal of getting the best possible shot. She had never really paused to put the camera down, to look at the world around her...to really <em> see </em> the world around her…</p><p>She could not breathe; she could not speak; she could barely move. The funnel thinned out from cloud to base, barely grazing the ground underneath it. But it was lit all the way up to the wall cloud, which picked up the same pinks and purples and grays that lit the bottom of the supercell. </p><p>“This is an F2,” Inuyasha said quietly, drawing her attention. “The winds will top out at over 150 miles per hour. It’d tear the roof right off a house. If you live in a mobile home, your house is not gonna survive, and you need to get the fuck out because this thing can bulldoze entire communities. A branch could destroy a steel door. And it’s not even close to the strongest one out there.” He paused. “This is nature, Kagome. This is nature at its most beautiful, and at its most terrifying.”</p><p>And as Kagome watched the tornado, swirling, moving, barreling across the landscape, she could see what Inuyasha meant. The beauty and the power of the tornado struck her, leaving her speechless. She forgot about her camera; she forgot about getting the “perfect shot.” She could only see the tornado, and its awesome, fearsome, glory.</p><p>For the first time in her life, the itch that Kagome needed to be scratched was not motivated by getting the perfect shot. It was motivated by chasing the perfect tornado. </p><p>Her stormy eyes flashed; a flush spread over her cheeks; her entire body tingled with anticipation. She wanted to <em> see </em> . She wanted to <em> know</em>. </p><p>More. She wanted more. </p><p>Kagome was so busy watching the tornado, so busy imagining herself in the Jeep, riding alongside Inuyasha, hunting that perfect storm, that she failed to notice a <em> similar </em> tempest brewing in his fiery amber eyes. </p><p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/642777249878261760/the-art-i-made-for-chapter-5-of-chasing-the">  </a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a></p><hr/>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Recipe for Disaster</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Inuyasha and Kagome prepare for an overnight tornado chase. They have it out on the drive over Inuyasha's soliloquy on nature the day before and Kagome's determination to do her job. Then later, Kagome does something very stupid.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the manga and/or anime.</p><p>Welcome to the next chapter of Chasing the Vortex! We hope that you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The previous day had been an okay day. Pro: Inuyasha had seen <em> four </em>tornadoes (including twins)! The con: he’d failed to get his probe inside of one. Another pro: he’d also gotten through to his photog hanger-on Kagome Higurashi.</p><p>He still grumbled at her insistence that his photography skills sucked, but, he had to admit, there <em> was </em> something to the ‘different lenses’ and ‘full frame’ stuff that he didn’t care about (he googled it, okay?). But… well, there maybe seemed to be a point to having a photographer with him. Maybe.</p><p>Her scent though. He needed her to dial that down, because smelling the fucking lilac and fresh rain all over his fucking Jeep even after he dropped her off at her hotel was <em> not working for him</em>. And.. so what if he googled photography that night because he couldn’t sleep? Because every time he tried to close his eyes, visions of Kagome’s pert breasts covered in nothing but a camisole invaded his vision, tickled his groin, made him—made him <em> want </em> things?</p><p>There were tornadoes to chase, and the models had them all off to the northwest, near the Kansas-Colorado border. It was going to be a long fucking day. One that started at 6am for him, to check the models, <em> not </em> because Kagome was making it hard to sleep.</p><p>Inuyasha picked up his phone and dialed the old Ox.</p><p>“What?” Totosai was always fun to call first thing in the morning.</p><p>“Model’s lookin’ like it’s gonna be eastern Colorado/western Kansas.” Inuyasha didn’t beat around the bush. “Today they heat the pot and tomorrow shit’s gonna be blowing up.”</p><p>“You ready for the first motel of the season, Taisho?” Totosai’s question confirmed that he agreed with Inuyasha’s assessment.</p><p><em> No. </em> <em><br/>
</em>He wasn’t ready for a fucking overnight so close to Kagome Higurashi…</p><p>“Yeah,” Inuyasha grumbled. “Tell your prissy journalist to pack an overnight bag.”</p><p>“Do you need me to text Ms. Higurashi as well?” Totosai deadpanned. “Or do you think you can handle that?”</p><p>“Keh.” Inuyasha knew better than to argue. Mostly because he did <em> not </em> want the old Ox knowing <em> anything </em> about his…<em>‘confusing’ </em>relationship with the photographer. “I got it. Meet for food at the halfway point?”</p><p>“I think there’s a good fried chicken place somewhere on the Kansas side,” Totosai mused. “Maybe not top 10…”</p><p>“Whatever.” Inuyasha hung up the phone.</p><p>He had enough information to get himself where he needed to go. It wasn’t a day like yesterday, but there was the prospect of something big, maybe in the late afternoon or early evening. And <em> tomorrow </em> that area was gonna blow up, with a nice crisp cold front barreling over the Rockies.</p><p>Hopefully that would make for something more leisurely, in case <em> the Dutchess </em> decided she needed a fucking triple shot fruity caramel Frappuccino or whatever-the-fuck she’d order at the Starbucks she’d undoubtedly demand that they stop at.</p><p>…</p><p>Maybe the whole coffee thing yesterday was him being a bit of a dick.<br/>
But, the models said that the tornadoes were <em> exploding </em> starting early in the day and they <em> had to get there</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha picked up his phone and hovered, scowling at the little “K. Higurashi” in his contact list. (Sure, he could’ve put her in as “Kagome” but… that was <em> way </em> too personal for someone who was gonna up and leave Podunk the moment she got her “award-winning shot.”)</p><p><em> Pack an overnight bag. We’re heading to Colorado. </em><br/>
Inuyasha bit his lip a little too hard as he pressed send.</p><p>He wasn’t nervous; that was ridiculous.<br/>
Kagome was a fly-by-night glory-chasing caffeine addict who would come to get her fucking shot, then flit back up to goddamned <em> Chicago </em> and out of his life.<br/>
It wasn’t like that look on her face when she watched the F2 was <em> genuine</em>. Most of the first-year students and chase tourists got that look on their face.<br/>
So <em> what </em> if there was something in it that he kept returning to over and over: a <em> sincerity </em> to it?<br/>
And it wasn’t like he made her stop taking pictures; <em> she </em> was the one who forgot about the goddamned camera that she had in her possession, not him.</p><p>Boy, had he heard about <em> that </em> on the ride home.</p><p><em> Ready when you are </em> 👍<br/>
Kagome’s reply was nearly immediate. It made Inuyasha look at his watch.</p><p>It was 7:54 in the morning. The previous day she’d acted like a fucking vampire when he tried to rouse her. At 9:00am.</p><p>What the hell was going on?</p><p><em> I’ll pick you up in 20. We have time to stop for coffee<br/>
</em>Inuyasha replied.</p><p>Okay, so maybe he did feel a little guilty about the previous day. But, she kept slow-walking every goddamned thing to get on his nerves. And, well, she <em> did </em> need to understand why they were doing what they were doing. Needed to look beyond the lens and see the beauty and the fury of a tornado. He just… had assumed she’d pick up the camera again in time. Although, he also assumed that the F2 wouldn’t fizzle out quite so rapidly either.</p><p>Inuyasha growled, grabbed his laptop, and threw it in the messenger bag that he kept in the back of his Jeep. As he looked around his apartment, he spotted the little Nikon camera he was so proud of, the one Kagome had needled him about.</p><p>Maybe he could upgrade it to one of the full frames, and he could get a couple more lenses. <em> Even though his goddamned pictures were fine</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha packed his overnight bag, then padded into his kitchen. He grabbed a case of water, plus a pack of protein bars. He walked out of the kitchen, but then doubled back and grabbed the 6-pack of beer that was in there too, and threw it on the ‘for the Jeep’ pile.</p><p>Inuyasha loved going on overnight chases. To him, it felt like going on a hunt. One where he got to drop all earthly attachments and commune with weather, just him and his Jeep…</p><p>...and usually Totosai and his Doppler on Wheels… and bad motel rooms that smelled like sweat and unmentionable other things...</p><p>So, even as he was shoving Kagome Higurashi out of his mind because his mind rebelled when he tried to convince it to hate her, he was still looking forward to the next couple days.</p><p>When Inuyasha got into his Jeep, he took a breath. Kagome’s scent now lingered with the leather; the way that it soothed him put him on edge.</p><p>
  <em> Four more days and she’ll be outta my hair. </em>
</p><p>Kagome’s scent, like Kagome’s memory, would fade. Like Kikyo’s had.</p><p>When he pulled up, there stood Kagome. Her hair was in a high ponytail, her camera bag tucked to her side, her overnight bag at her feet, a cardboard cup in her hand (probably full of coffee) and a scowl on her face. Inuyasha wouldn’t grin; he <em> wouldn’t</em>.</p><p>“Looks like you learned your lesson,” he barked out the window.</p><p>“If you do so much as <em> breathe </em> for me to put my camera down today, I will shove it so far up your—” Kagome started, but was cut off by Inuyasha’s laughter.</p><p>“Get in. If you’re nice, I could even stop at Starbucks.” Inuyasha pulled up next to her and popped the trunk.</p><p>“Why the fuck couldn’t we do that yesterday?” Kagome growled, doing an incredibly accurate impression of Inuyasha—he wondered if it was on purpose.</p><p>“Because yesterday shit was already blowin’ up, <em> Dutchess</em>,” Inuyasha mocked back. “Today… shit is stirrin’ but isn’t gonna boil over for a while. We have time.”</p><p>Kagome didn’t retort, but she <em> did </em> slam the Jeep’s trunk shut, and when she got into the passenger seat, she <em> also </em> slammed the door. Inuyasha tried not to smirk at how cute it was. Or… to think about how cute <em> she </em> was when she was angry.</p><p>“No, I’m fine.” Kagome stared out the window, very deliberately not making eye contact.</p><p>“You <em> sure</em>?” He was having far too much fun. “Because once we get out into bumfuck, you might change your mind.”</p><p>Kagome was dead silent for a few moments, but Inuyasha could see the turmoil breaking over her. Yes, she wanted Starbucks. But, that would give him the satisfaction of winning.</p><p>Inuyasha considered his options. If he just kept driving, she would be smugly satisfied for an hour, then completely unbearable for the rest of the 8-hour drive to their destination. On the other hand, if he dropped it for <em> a couple seconds</em>, she would be smug <em> and </em> then she would be caffeinated and in his debt and <em> he </em> would get to be smug.</p><p>“We’re goin’.” Inuyasha made his decision. “No encore performances of yesterday.” Inuyasha made a right and headed toward the drive-thru Starbucks right by the highway. “What do you want.”</p><p>“I’m <b> <em>fine</em></b>.” The venom in Kagome’s voice said otherwise.</p><p>“I am gonna order you the fruitiest frappuccino covered in whipped cream and chocolate if you don’t tell me what to get you,” Inuyasha lectured—going to Starbucks <em> had </em> been a good decision.</p><p>Apparently Kagome’s growl was <em> not </em> an impression of Inuyasha, but instead a true expression of exasperation. But he didn’t think it was cute—he <em> didn’t</em>.</p><p>“Triple skim latte,” Kagome sighed.</p><p>“You got it.” Inuyasha had won the battle. He got to be smug and he got to be right and he got to provide…</p><p>Shit, he was sort of excited about buying Kagome her latte.<br/>
Until she shoved a ten dollar bill in his face.</p><p>“And a doughnut.” </p><p>Inuyasha bit down the retort that tried to escape him, leaving only a low and rumbling growl. But he pulled into the Starbucks and he ordered the extra large triple skim latte and the doughnut. And added a couple pieces of that lemon ice cake for himself.</p><p>Inuyasha handed Kagome her breakfast, then turned on his playlist. It was a long way to Dodge City, where Totosai had texted about meeting for a late fried chicken lunch. And, he certainly didn’t want to try to fill the awkward silence with <em> conversation</em>. So he drummed on the steering wheel as The Who started to play, and tried as hard as he could to ignore the sullen Kagome Higurashi. The ranch lands of the Great Plains had a lot of cows. Black cows, sometimes brown cows…</p><p>“So… did you get enough sleep?” Inuyasha’s question startled even himself. He didn’t want to <em> know things</em>…except that he did.</p><p>“It was fine,” Kagome answered shortly, her eyes still fixed out the window.</p><p>“You sure about that?” Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and turned his head to Kagome.</p><p>That had been a mistake. Because by looking at her, he realized that the slump to her shoulders he was attributing to exhaustion came from something else entirely. <em> Defeat </em>. As if she was just going through the motions that day.</p><p>“It. Was. Fine.” Kagome enunciated each word.</p><p>“Then what’s your problem today?” Inuyasha blurted out. He shouldn’t have said it; he shouldn’t care. She was a fly-by-night photographer after the next big fucking thing, and he was her Sherpa to the Pulitzer. He had <em> nothing </em> to feel guilty about.</p><p>“You. <em> You </em> are my problem,” Kagome growled; it shouldn’t have encouraged Inuyasha further, but her answer was a crack in the icy armor she was trying to project around her.</p><p>“Take a number,” Inuyasha deflected, but… he wasn’t done. “Seriously though, you’ve been in a huff since this morning and it’s annoying me. So, have it out.”</p><p>For a second, Inuyasha thought Kagome was going to deflect again, say she was fine, <em> something </em>, but instead, with no more warning than a pronounced inhale, Kagome erupted.</p><p>“You! Inuyasha Taisho, <em> you are my problem</em>!” The flood gates had opened. “You—you with your <em> this is nature, Kagome. This is nature at its most beautiful, and at its most terrifying.</em>” Now she really <em> was </em> mocking him. “And running and grabbing my fucking lens to point <em> me</em>, the <em> photographer</em>, in the right direction!” Kagome’s voice was getting higher and higher pitched. “And the coffee. Like who doesn’t drink coffee or understand that humans <em> need </em> coffee??” When the edge of emotion came into her voice too, Inuyasha pinned his ears back to his head. “All to get to storms and yell at Totosai and yell at me and then—then… UGH” Kagome literally punched the dashboard, breathed a couple of breaths, then recollected her steam. “I hate you!”</p><p>It stung.<br/>
It wasn’t supposed to sting.<br/>
It was just a stupid photographer.<br/>
Why the fuck did it sting?</p><p>“Oh yeah? Well <em> I hate you too! </em> ” Inuyasha barked. “All your higher-than-thou bullshit about lenses and cameras and making me feel stupid. I’m a fucking <em> Ph.D. </em> candidate for Christ sakes! And YOU, you hate me?!” But then Kagome flinched, and the air came out of Inuyasha’s bluster. He took a breath, trying to compose himself. Trying to calm down, trying to… to make that hurt look on her face go away. “Why—why do you hate me..?”</p><p>“I could’ve had it,” Kagome whispered, looking down at the camera bag at her ankles. “It was <em> right there </em> and… and… I missed it.” Then her eyes shot back up and toward Inuyasha. “Because <em> you </em> just <em> had </em> to tell me to just stare at the fucking tornado. As if… you didn’t give a flying shit <em> about me doing my job</em>.”</p><p>What the what?</p><p>Okay, so Inuyasha <em> did </em> sort of… distract Kagome away from taking a picture of that sunset F2, but she needed to <em> understand </em> why they were there, what made the tornadoes so special. He… he wanted her to see tornadoes through <em> his eyes</em>. And, well, something about the way she dropped her camera and looked at that tornado told him that… she <em> had</em>.</p><p>He tried not to think too hard about that.</p><p>“What the fuck are you talking about?” Inuyasha demanded; he had not said <em> anything </em> about Kagome’s job, or her ability to do it. He just… he wanted her to <em> understand</em>.</p><p>“I have worked too fucking hard for the likes of you to tell me that I can’t do my job well.” Kagome was talking more to herself than to him at that moment.</p><p><em> Fuck. </em> This was <em> not </em> supposed to be the conversation that took place. Kagome wasn’t supposed to feel this defensive about <em> her </em> ability to do her job, because <em> Inuyasha </em> was the one who got to be defensive about <em> his </em> ability to do <em> his </em> job. He’d—well, he’d wanted her to understand the love. The drive. The exhilaration of watching nature’s fury at its most beautiful, and most destructive. He… he wanted to <em> share </em> that with her.</p><p>“All because I made you put down your fucking camera?” Inuyasha scoffed.</p><p>“<em>Yes </em> , Inuyasha. Because you made me put down my camera, and my <em> job </em> is literally to <em> pick up my camera</em>.” Kagome scowled. “I… I’d never seen one before and it was—it was an experience. But. I should have been <em> doing my job</em>, not staring and doing nothing.”</p><p>“Oh.” Inuyasha hated that his ears were drooping. He wanted to be <em> mad </em> and he wanted to be <em> right</em>, and he could be neither. “Well, uh. I guess… we just need to get your camera in front of another tornado.”</p><p>That promise was dumb. Inuyasha knew that promise was dumb the first moment it passed through his lips, and still, he promised it. Because she was so angry and so defeated. Because she let herself experience that special communion the day before.</p><p>“You and I both know you can’t promise me a tornado,” Kagome challenged, completely right and completely reading him.</p><p>“Yeah well, there’s a reason they put you with me.” Inuyasha swallowed. “Because I’m the best.”</p><p>He could already smell the recipe for disaster cooking. Because he promised. A tornado. He promised Kagome a tornado.</p><p>When they made it to the fried chicken place for lunch, Inuyasha grabbed his laptop. He didn’t need to listen to the blathering on of Totosai and the damn fox. He needed to see if, well, if he could keep that promise.</p><p>“...Probably top 20 but it is <em> nothing </em> compared to the fried chicken I got in Montgomery,” Totosai was musing as he crunched his fangs into a drumstick.</p><p>“Do you get tornadoes in that part of the country?” Shippo asked.</p><p>“Not often, but when they do, it’s <em> bad</em>.” Totosai’s voice turned grave. “A tornado outbreak hit Tuscaloosa not long ago. It was the deadliest in a decade and… well, not to self-plug but that is why we’re trying to get Hakurei Weather Institute off the ground.”</p><p>Inuyasha’s ears perked at the earnestness in his advisor’s voice, at the wayward look on his advisor’s face. Totosai took tornado casualties <em> personally. </em> He always thought if he was just a little faster, a little better, he’d be able to save people. It was one of the things about Totosai that Inuyasha had always liked.</p><p>“If we could get our models to be 10% more accurate…” Totosai had started talking about the science. Inuyasha could turn back to his laptop.</p><p>The models had updated, and although the conditions weren’t the best he’d ever seen, it sure as fuck <em> looked </em>like things were getting more promising.</p><p>“...Even ten minutes…” Totosai continued, a speech that Inuyasha had heard a million times.</p><p>“Yo.” Inuyasha nudged Kagome, whose eyes looked to be glazing over. “Cheyenne Falls, CO. It’s going high-risk. I think we might see something today…”</p><p>“What changed?” Totosai cut in, thoughts of his science soliloquy in the past.</p><p>“European models updated. The cold front is gettin’ there faster than we thought,” Inuyasha replied, causing the old Ox to get up from his seat and peer over Inuyasha’s shoulder. “We’re headin’ to the bullseye.”</p><p>“We should get on the road, then. See you in Cheyenne Falls!” Totosai slapped his knees and headed to the cash register to pay.</p><p>“Oi! At some point you <em> are </em> going to have to let someone else cover the bill!” Shippo called after him, but Totosai, like usual, just waved a lazy hand, dismissing the suggestion.</p><p>Inuyasha ate the last piece of his chicken and threw the biscuits into a napkin, then turned toward Kagome.</p><p>“You ready?” Inuyasha asked, but he could already feel the anticipation buzzing through him. Conditions were ripe for something. And he needed to get there.</p><p>“Hell yes!” Kagome said, bounding into the bathroom before they completed the rest of the 8-hour drive to their destination.</p><p>Inuyasha smiled. The buzz was coming back: the anticipation. He loved this feeling. It was the same feeling as yesterday, though a little more subdued. The conditions were promising, but he’d seen a lot of ‘promising’ days that resulted in bupkis.</p><p>Then he saw the bounce in Kagome’s step as she joined him in the Jeep. He wondered, was she buzzing too? Could she feel the thrill of the hunt in her blood too?</p><p>No. He wasn’t allowed to think about that.<br/>
He just needed to get to Cheyenne Falls.</p><p>So he gassed up the Jeep and they were off.</p><p>“So, what are the odds we are seeing a tornado today?” Kagome asked, tapping her finger on the door and knocking her knee against the dashboard. Yup, she was buzzing.</p><p>It was a good question. It was <em> not </em> yesterday. But, the storms looked really promising. And if there was a tornado, Inuyasha would sniff it out.</p><p>“Maybe 50/50,” Inuyasha answered. “If one of them drops though, I’ll be there.”</p><p>Inuyasha already had NOAA and Weather Underground pulled up on his phone, and he’d migrated his laptop to an arm’s reach away. But as they crossed into Colorado, he could already see what he was looking for.</p><p>Ahead on the horizon, beautiful, glorious anvils reaching up into the sky. Inuyasha grabbed the two-way radio.</p><p>“You in Colorado yet?” Inuyasha called to Totosai.</p><p>“About 15 minutes away. Things brewing?” Inuyasha loved hearing the old Ox get excited.</p><p>“Three of ‘em. Looks like the one the farthest north is gonna be the right one.” Inuyasha called back, staring at the velocity map on his phone. “Break the speed limit and get here. I think we’re gonna see something.”</p><p><em> ”You </em> stop speeding,” Totosai barked.  “I’ll let you know when we’re close. Totosai out.”</p><p>“So. Northern storm showing… the most rotation?” Kagome’s voice broke through Inuyasha’s buzz. But, her question showed that she was learning.</p><p>“Yeah. I wish we could get a reading from the DOW on it before committing, but… that’s my guess,” Inuyasha answered. If a tornado was going to drop, he bet that it was going to come from that northern storm.</p><p>“Are you gonna deploy a probe?” Kagome asked, the edge to her voice confusing.</p><p>“Yeah,” Inuyasha answered tersely. “That’s sort of the point.”</p><p>Kagome nodded, and began to unpack her camera. She grabbed the stick thing she used the previous day, as well as the telephoto lens, before shaking her head. She nodded at the shorter lens that was already on her camera.</p><p>As Inuyasha raced toward the storm, he scanned near the ground, looking for that telltale shelf of the wall cloud. He felt lucky. The storm looked dry around the most obvious rotation, which meant <em> hopefully </em> the damn thing would not be rain wrapped.</p><p>“There!” Inuyasha shouted, pointing at the gray-green basin that had sunk under the main storm cloud. “Kagome, use your phone to tell me if the next surface road stays north-south.”</p><p>Kagome scrambled to follow his direction. “Yup.”</p><p>“Good.” Inuyasha tried to keep the grin away. Maybe, just maybe, he was going to deliver on his promise.</p><p>He veered the Jeep onto the road, chasing after the wall cloud, and scanning the sky. By the time he was nearly underneath it, Inuyasha knew that he’d made the right choice. The whole thing was <em> rotating </em> like mad, and the air around him was cold.</p><p>“Time to watch, Kagome,” Inuyasha ordered, then stopped and parked the Jeep on the side of the road. He opened the door and climbed out. “There are two places you might see a tornado formin’. Look at the base of the wall cloud, for any dips or funnels. That’s usually the most obvious way to find something. The other is you look at the ground, for…”</p><p>“For a cloud of debris?” Kagome offered, causing Inuyasha’s eyes to snap off the wall cloud base and onto Kagome, who was pointing off to the northeast of where they were standing.</p><p>And there it was, no more than a quarter mile from them. The spinning tendrils of dirt and dust. When Inuyasha looked up, he saw what it was connecting with. No, more, he saw <em> why </em> he hadn’t seen it before.</p><p>An enormous wedge was winding its way under the cloud, toward the earth, trying to connect with the debris that it was already kicking up. The wedge had been big enough that Inuyasha’s visual scan had not immediately screamed “funnel!” to him.</p><p>They were close.<br/>
Very close.<br/>
<em> Way too close</em>.</p><p>Whatever was dropping from the sky was not just any run of the mill tornado; it was a monster. Big enough that they had to get back. Big enough that trying to get a probe down would absolutely put their lives in danger. Inuyasha’s eyes widened and he started to open the door to the Jeep…</p><p>...only to realize that he was alone. <em> Entirely alone</em>.</p><p>Kagome had not only left the Jeep and him, but was running, camera shutter clicking, <em> toward </em> the tornado.</p><p>“Kagome!” Inuyasha called.</p><p>They had no more than a couple of minutes to hightail it out of there. But Kagome was still advancing toward the dust cloud, her hair whipping in the ever-increasingly violent wind. And her face was still full of the camera as she trudged with increased effort against the wind. <em> What the fuck was she doing? </em> A black wall of fury was descending on her, and the fucking girl was running <em> toward </em> it instead of <em> away from it</em>!</p><p>“<em>Seriously FUCK Kagome, get fucking back here!” </em> Inuyasha called again, but she was a hundred feet from him, and still she was moving closer to what was a powerful and angry tornado, which had nearly connected with the ground.</p><p>Inuyasha started to panic. He remembered the day he ignored the alarm bells in his own mind because he was too preoccupied with Kikyo leaving him, as an F3 barreled toward him. He remembered bailing out of his car, and rolling on the ground, just before the tornado claimed the fucking car, and a giant flying wooden pole would have claimed his life.</p><p>Kagome was running toward a tornado that was probably an F4. And she had no idea how close to death she was at that moment.</p><p>Without another thought, Inuyasha sprinted out to her, grabbing her around her waist. They had less than a minute now, and he wasn’t even <em> sure </em> they could outrun the roaring beast that was now barreling toward them. But he had to try.</p><p>“H—hey!” Kagome’s voice was drowned out by the wind. She needed to be safe. He <em> needed to get her to safety. </em></p><p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/643408328230354944/heres-the-art-i-made-for-chapter-6-for-chasing">
    
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</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>That was all that mattered.</p><p>By the time Inuyasha was thinking clearly again, he was driving the Jeep <em> away </em> from the tornado, which was hot on their tails. The power lines on the side of the road were swaying dangerously, but somehow, <em> miraculously</em>, they did not fall.</p><p>Finally, relievedly, the tornado started to recede into the background.</p><p>That was the closest call he’d had since, well… since the day he totaled his car.</p><p>“What the <em> fuck</em>?!” The high-pitched screech came from the woman whose life he just saved. “I almost had it! Fuck, Inuyasha, I almost had it!”</p><p>“Are you <em> fucking kidding me</em>?” Inuyasha could feel a visceral fury come over him. “You nearly died just then, you stupid fucking idiot. <em> You almost died</em>. And godFUCK, do you have even one ounce of self-preservation?!”</p><p>Kagome had almost died. She had run into a tornado and she had almost died.</p><p>“I didn’t need much more—“ Kagome shouted back, but Inuyasha was <em> not going to let her </em>.</p><p>“That was probably a fucking <b>F4</b>, Kagome.” Inuyasha breathed to calm himself down. “A fucking monster dropped on top of us and you fucking <em> ran into it like a fucking bunny</em>.” Kagome could have died. “If I hadn’t grabbed your ass, you <em> would have died</em>.”</p><p>“I was <em> fine.” </em>Kagome crossed her arms.</p><p>“No! No, you weren’t <em> fine</em>. You were reckless!” Inuyasha knew he was losing control. “We’re done for the day.”</p><p>“What?!” Kagome turned her wide eyes on him. “But, what if there’s…”</p><p>“I don’t fucking care,” Inuyasha bellowed; Kagome could have died. “We’re gonna go spend the rest of the day with Totosai.”</p><p>“But—“ Kagome tried to argue, but Inuyasha was not hearing it; he was not hearing <em> anything. </em></p><p><em> Kagome could have died. </em> And for the rest of that evening, that was all Inuyasha could think about.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Single Look</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While editing her photos from that day, Kagome sees something that makes her realize how close she came to death...and just how scared Inuyasha was to lose her. She resolves to go apologize to him, and show him why. Things get spicy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the manga and/or anime.</p><p>Hello everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of Chasing the Vortex! This chapter contains sexual content; we ask that you please heed the tags. Thanks, and enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kagome jumped out of the Jeep and slammed the door shut. She then leaned against it, making an effort to bang it with her elbows. Her arms were crossed, her hands were tucked under her arms, the rage still threatening to bubble to the surface. </p><p>Because what had happened that afternoon was unacceptable.</p><p>Okay, sure. The tornado had been <em> huge</em>. But it had also been majestic, and it had practically landed on top of her. <em> She had been so close</em>. Until Inuyasha “rescued” her from said tornado. The fucking nerve. <em> She didn’t need to be rescued. </em> So she’d been furious. And to be honest, she still was.</p><p>The way that Inuyasha had grabbed her, had taken her from the one thing that she was <em> brought on this fucking assignment to do</em>, filled her with an inexplicable anger. He’d kept her from doing her job <em> again</em>. He’d proven that he had <em> no respect </em> for her or her process <em> again</em>.</p><p>But also….<br/>The way that Inuyasha had <em> grabbed </em> her, how fast he had run <em> after </em> her, how he had, in fact <em> feared for her life</em>…</p><p>It was <em> doing things to her</em>. Just a little bit.</p><p>She sighed and hiked a boot up, pressing the sole into the door of the Jeep, trying not to think about the way that his muscles had rippled around her when he snapped her up, the way that his ponytail swirled around in the wind, the way that his legs had pumped to get them to safety.</p><p>The way that his golden eyes had flashed at her: in anger, in worry, in fear.</p><p>Inuyasha had seemed <em> afraid</em>. Of her? For her? For <em> them</em>? She couldn’t tell. She just knew that her work was left incomplete because Inuyasha had, once again, prevented her from doing her job.</p><p>And then, to top it off, Inuyasha had not left her alone for a <em> minute </em> after the incident. He was never more than a few feet from her; she could feel him always there, always watching, a scowl on his face, but a gentleness in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place. It was driving her <em> insane</em>.</p><p>So, yes. Inuyasha had gone into the motel office with Totosai, but she had begged off, relieved to have a few minutes of peace. Alone. Quiet. No intense golden eyes. No dog ears trained on her literally every second.</p><p>Just sweet, sweet silence.</p><p>“What are you so grumpy about?” Shippo asked, coming over to stand with her. He’d followed Totosai and Inuyasha into the motel office before doubling back, complaining about having to use the bathroom. He was clearly angling for some alone time away from prying ears. “Gonna be a fun night, right, Kagome?” he said with a wink. </p><p>“What are you getting at?” Kagome growled.</p><p>Shippo leaned back and crossed his arms too. “You know, Kagome,” he said seriously. “I do know how much you just <em> love </em> motels in bumfuck.”</p><p>“It’s <em> fine</em>,” Kagome snapped. “There’s probably running water in this one.”</p><p>Shippo waved at her as Totosai and Inuyasha came out of the motel office. “Just don’t go looking for any trouble tonight, okay? Stay home, and edit your photos. I’m sure the last thing Totosai and Inuyasha want to do is get a phone call that their star photographer is…”</p><p>“That was <em> one time</em>, Shippo!” <em> Honestly</em>, Kagome thought, how many times was Shippo going to bring up that night in Carmel?</p><p>Shippo smirked, then went to join the two men. Soon the three of them were engrossed in conversation, leaving Kagome alone with her thoughts, though she swore she could feel silver ears and golden eyes on her.</p><p>She tried to fight it, but her attention too was completely focused on Inuyasha. She watched him, arguing with Totosai about something (as per usual), while Shippo laughed at them both. She pushed down the hint of a smile that threatened to cross her face at their antics. </p><p>Because she was still upset. About the whole “<em>Fuck, Kagome, get fucking back here</em>!” thing. How he had grabbed her, how he had kept her from getting the perfect shot—one that she just <em> knew </em> had been within her grasp.</p><p>How he had grabbed her. <br/>How he had saved her life.</p><p>Thoughts of Denali kept peeking around the edges of her memory, about the time a <em> different </em> demon had grabbed her, also saving her, pulling her back from a crevasse that had suddenly opened up as they trekked the Northeast Fork. How angry she’d been then. How that familiar tingle had then run through her body, a tingle that she’d had to ease, with said demon (said <em> very sexy wolf demon</em>), that night. Several times. </p><p>That same tingle was tickling at the back of her mind, now, threatening to let itself loose, all over Inuyasha Taisho.</p><p>Nope. Nope, nope, <em> nope</em>. She was <em> not </em> going to go there. Not with <em> him</em>. Because Kōga had been sweet, and kind, and a little egotistical, and attractive, and attracted to <em> her</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha Taisho was just an ass.</p><p>A tall, muscular, <em> gorgeous</em>, ass, yes. But still an ass.</p><p>The way that he had run to her, as though his legs were lightning. The way that he had lifted her so easily, as though she weighed nothing. The way he had brought her back to safety.</p><p>The fucking tingle was coming back. Thankfully, Kagome had other options to take care of <em> that</em>. </p><p>“Hey, Kagome!” Shippo called to her, and she jogged over to join the others, pushing thoughts of Inuyasha Taisho doing anything <em> other than </em> chasing tornadoes out of her head.</p><p>“Hey,” Kagome said, coming up to them and standing next to Shippo. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“Get plenty of rest tonight,” Totosai replied, handing Kagome her key. “Models are predicting an early start to the morning.”</p><p>“Got it,” she said briskly, ignoring the scowl on Inuyasha’s face. She walked past him to the Jeep’s trunk; she opened the trunk and began to push things aside so she could unearth her overnight bag.</p><p>“Here,” said a gruff voice, “let me.” Inuyasha gently steered her back from the Jeep’s rear; she huffed in annoyance, especially because his touch was igniting that tingle <em> again </em> (and <em> fuck</em>, she hated it), but he ignored her. She watched as he reached in, felt around, then pulled out her camera case, which he handed to her (since she had been “grounded,” she hadn’t bothered to take any more photos, because <em> fuck him</em>). He then dug around a little more deeply; there was a six-pack of beer that he pushed to the side, and then he passed her a navy blue overnight bag which she recognized as her own.</p><p>“Thanks,” she said, gripping it in one hand as she slung the camera bag over her shoulder. “Do you always bring booze on chases? Those beers…”</p><p>“Are for later,” he grunted. “I drink alone.”</p><p>“Great. Me too.” Kagome chirped, unable to keep the venom out of her tone. She should find a bar where she could get something <em> stiff</em>. Because honestly? After the day they’d had? Beer would not be strong enough.</p><p>She knew that Shippo had teased her about getting into trouble, but still… <em>she</em> <em>had had a day. </em></p><p>“Sleep, Kagome,” Shippo said, giving her a grin and a wink, because he knew how her mind worked. “We have an early day tomorrow.”</p><p>“Got it, <em> Pops</em>,” Kagome shot back, and Shippo snickered as he turned to head towards his room.</p><p>“See you in the morning,” Inuyasha said to her, hauling his own overnight bag out of the Jeep and grabbing his laptop and the beer.</p><p>Kagome sped away from the others, up the stairs, to her motel room. The key was in her hand, but unfortunately, so was her overnight bag, and her camera case kept bumping so that she couldn’t get free. Grumbling, she set down her overnight bag, switched the key into her free hand, and jammed it into the lock, which required jiggling the damn thing <em> just so </em> to get it to unlock.</p><p>A low growl drew her attention to her right. Inuyasha was standing at the door to the room <em> right next door</em>, and he was looking her way, glowering at her. Kagome glowered right back at him, kicked her door open, picked up her overnight bag, and stormed into her room.</p><p>Inuyasha Taisho was her next door neighbor that night.<br/>So much for trying to stay away from Inuyasha Taisho.<br/><em> Fuck</em>. Kagome was <em> not </em> going to get much sleep after all.</p><hr/><p>Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.</p><p>Every click through her SD card was showing her bupkis. The sky was too dark; the debris too hectic around the funnel opening; Kagome herself was moving too quickly, leaving the shot motion blurred.</p><p>She slid down her chair and let out an exasperated groan. Inuyasha <em> had </em> promised her a tornado, hadn’t he? And he <em> had </em> delivered. But <em> she </em> was the one who…</p><p>Nope. It wasn’t <em> her </em> fault she didn’t get the perfect shot.</p><p>That fault obviously belonged solely to Inuyasha Taisho.</p><p><em> Yes</em>. It was his fault, and his alone.<br/>Kagome was sure of it.<br/>Wasn’t she?<br/>Because if not…</p><p><em> Click</em>. Kagome could see her boots in the shot as she barreled towards the storm.<br/><em> Click</em>. There were the clouds, beginning to wrap up into tight, ropey bands.<br/><em> Click</em>. There was the funnel, dropping down from the sky.<br/><em> Click</em>. There was…</p><p>There was Inuyasha’s face as he raced towards her, just before he grabbed her and dragged her to safety, the winds swirling around him, his ponytail whipping in multiple directions at once. </p><p>Kagome paused, and zoomed in on his face.<br/>His handsome face. Filled with concern... <em> no</em>.</p><p>Kagome could see it: his eyebrows, pressing together to the middle of his forehead; his mouth, open as he was calling out to her; his eyes, flashing gold and laced with <em> fear. </em></p><p>Kagome flashed back to that moment: to the terror in his voice; to the way that he reached for her, snagged her about the waist, drawing her backwards so fast he nearly knocked the wind out of her. Nearly caused her to drop her camera. As if...as if he didn’t care about the camera, or the shot, or the tornado.</p><p>As if he only cared about <em> her</em>.</p><p>Kagome’s breath caught. Inuyasha...did he care about <em> her</em>? She scoffed. <em> No, he probably only cares about me dying on his watch</em>. But the more she looked at the photo, the more she noticed. The more she understood. Perhaps, he had been right. Perhaps, she had been in mortal danger. And perhaps she <em> had </em> needed to be saved.</p><p>The thought brought her back again to Kōga, to the Northeast Fork. How he’d grabbed her similarly abruptly and pulled her to safety. How pissed he had been at her for taking the risk to get the perfect shot, and then, how surprised he’d been when she showed up to his hotel room to thank him, and how she’d shown her gratitude to him: for letting her get that shot, but <em> also</em>, for saving her life.</p><p>Because Kagome had to admit: she loved to push the envelope, to take the risk…<br/>But she secretly <em> loved </em> being pulled back from the brink, especially if the person pulling her back happened to be a sexy, strong, muscular, demon.</p><p>Or half-demon.<br/><em> Fuck</em>.</p><p>The more Kagome looked at the photo, the more she felt the weight of the moment resting upon her shoulders. The more she felt that perhaps, she was a teensy bit to blame. But also...the more she tried to focus on the fact that Inuyasha Taisho was the biggest ass this side of bumfuck, she kept returning to other things: that he also was strong, and handsome, and <em> hot</em>, and…</p><p>The way he was charging at her, the look of abject fear so clear on his face? She was feeling a heating in her core that was slowly spreading throughout her body. Guilt? Yes. But also…</p><p>Also attraction.<br/>No man had ever looked at her the way that Inuyasha had looked at her in that picture.<br/>Not even <em> Kōga</em>, who had also saved her life.<br/>Not the fear, the concern, the terror. </p><p>And sure, Kōga had been freaked out, but Inuyasha had looked at her <em> differently</em>. In a way that sent that tingle that had been pricking at the back of her mind right to the heat of her sex.</p><p>In a split second, Kagome made her decision. She snapped her laptop shut and took out the SD card, which she returned to her camera. She put her camera into its bag, got to her feet, grabbed her room key, and unlocked the door. She stepped out into the muggy spring evening, and locked the door behind her. She realized at that moment that she was in a tank top and shorts, but it was dark, and no one was going to see her… no one that mattered, anyway.</p><p>She… she had to say thank you to him. For saving her life. For helping her to realize that she <em> had</em>, in fact, been in grave danger. </p><p>Taking a deep breath, Kagome raised her hand, and knocked on his motel room door, hard, and sharp. She heard a loud grunt, then a sigh, and then the lock clicked as the door jerked open. Inuyasha stood there, a beer in one hand, the door handle in the other, his golden eyes widening in surprise as he took her in.</p><p>“Ka—Kagome,” he coughed, opening the door more. “What the fuck are you doing here?”</p><p>“I came to tell you that you were right, and that I’m sorry,” she said, toeing the concrete nervously (why was she suddenly so nervous?). </p><p>Oh. Because Inuyasha was <em> shirtless</em>.</p><p>Holy gods in all the heavens, was he a <em> sight </em> to behold.</p><p>He was rippled and sculpted in exactly a way she didn’t think possible. His chest was perfect; she could tell his muscles were hard under the soft skin. His nipples stood out, pert and hardened, against his finely shaped pecs. Her eyes trailed down his torso, more hungrily than she cared to admit, over his breathtaking abs, his perfectly shaped navel, and down to his…</p><p>Oh gods. Oh gods. <br/>To a <em> bulge </em> in his sweatpants that clearly stood out against the fabric.<br/>Was he wearing any underwear? No; no he was <em> not</em>. Great.</p><p>“About what?” he asked her, holding the door open with his foot and crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>Kagome blinked, ripping her gaze away from his pants and back to his face. “Huh?”</p><p>“Huh?” he mocked back, his voice hard, his eyes boring into hers. “You’re here. At <em> my </em> door. Apparently so you can apologize to <em> me</em>. So…” He left the sentence hanging.</p><p>“So I’m sorry,” she said. “About being an ass. About running head-first into a tornado.”</p><p>“An <em> F4</em>,” he shot back.</p><p>“An F4,” she agreed. She took a breath. “Can I come in?”</p><p>Inuyasha shrugged, and stepped back away from the door, letting her in. Kagome entered his room, pausing for a moment to look around. The room resembled hers, but the table was covered with his laptop, maps, and beer, instead of camera equipment. She wanted to set her bag on the table, but with all his crap strewn everywhere, it was hard.</p><p>“Can I—?” she asked, gesturing at the table. He followed her hand, grunted, and picked up his maps.</p><p>“Be my guest,” he said, and she set her bag down, took out her camera, and flicked it on.</p><p>“Here,” she replied, and he looked at the camera’s screen and scowled.</p><p>“What the fuck is this?” he asked.</p><p>“These are the photos I took today. Come here.” She moved over slightly so he could see, and then clicked through the photos. “See?” </p><p>“Keh.” He tossed his head. </p><p>“I <em> know </em> they aren’t great,” she huffed, “but <em> here</em>.” She kept clicking through the photos, and then landed on the one she’d taken of Inuyasha running towards her, the fear plain on his face. Hesitantly, she looked over at him, and she saw him blushing a little. </p><p>“I—I—it was nothing,” he scowled, and turned away.</p><p>“Wait.” Kagome set down her camera, then reached out and touched his arm, and <em> yes, </em>it was just as hard and muscular as she had imagined. He looked down and their eyes met; Kagome couldn’t deny the electricity that shot through her body at the way that they touched. “This...this is what I wanted to show you,” she said quietly. “This picture. It showed me...just how much danger I was in.” She paused. “And just how close I came to… uh… just how much I owe you.” She squeezed his arm a little more tightly. “Thank you, Inuyasha,” she added. “Thank you for protecting me, and for...for saving me.”</p><p>He tried to shake her off, but Kagome held him close. “<em>No</em>,” she said, maybe a little more forcefully than she intended. “I need you to understand, Inuyasha. <em> No one </em> has ever looked at me like that before. Like... like<em>… I </em> mattered. Like saving <em> me</em>… mattered.” She looked up at him, and stared at him until he paused, and looked down at her. </p><p>Kagome’s heart froze. His eyes were ablaze, like molten lava, and they were melting her heart, right down into her soul. Like he was seeing a part of her that no one had ever seen before, and he <em> liked </em> what he saw. </p><p>She couldn’t look away; she couldn’t let go; she couldn’t…<br/>She <em> needed </em> him. <br/>She <em> wanted </em> him.</p><p>Kagome realized she wasn’t breathing; she wasn’t moving; she wasn’t anything. But also: she had to do <em> something</em>.</p><p>Gently, carefully, she tugged on his arm, turned him to face her, and pressed her lips to his.</p><p>At first, he tensed under her touch, freezing up so completely that his entire body went rigid. Kagome began to panic. Had she read him right? Had she thought correctly? Had she…</p><p>And then his entire body relaxed, and his arms went around her as he crushed her to him, deepening the kiss and sweeping her off her feet.</p><p>The kiss was searing: needy, fresh, passionate. Kagome couldn’t remember the last time she’d been kissed like this; not even Kōga had kissed her so intensely. But clearly Inuyasha also hadn’t kissed like this in a long time, and he was taking advantage of the moment, leaving so little space between them that her breasts pressed against his chest. She teased the seam of his lips with her tongue, and when he opened his mouth, she worked her way inside, curling against his tongue, feeling his fangs...whatever she could touch. He growled at the feel of her tongue on his fangs, and as she squeezed his bicep again, he drove his tongue into her mouth even further.</p><p>The feel of him all around her was almost too much for Kagome to take. He was hot—<em>so hot</em>—and she was swept up in the moment: in the heat of their kiss, in the strength of his arms, in the desire that was swiftly dampening her panties. She trailed her hands down his back, the pads of her fingers pressing lightly on his skin, and then into the waistband of his sweatpants, where she found his perfect, delicious ass, and pinched, hard. He moaned, and his own hands toyed with the hem of her tank top. “May I?” he whispered against her lips, and Kagome <em> again </em> nearly keened from the huskiness of his voice, from the way that he was asking permission.</p><p>“Abso-fucking-lutely,” she hissed, and she pulled her hands out of his pants, held her arms up, and looked at him impatiently. If she could see her own face, she was sure that her eyes would be sparkling. He tugged her shirt up over her head and tossed it aside; Kagome <em> glowed </em> when she heard him let out an audible whine at the sight of her in her red scalloped bra. She leaned up and pressed her hands to his cheeks, and drew him down for a deep, sensual kiss, one that made her dizzy and dark with lust. His hands roamed her back, and she spun him around and pushed him backwards, towards the bed. Her hands dropped back to the waistband of his sweats, and his hands dropped to her shorts, cupping her ass over the fabric, massaging it lightly, and causing her to softly say his name and dip her hands into his sweats. She could feel the hard muscle of his hips as her hands splayed across his flesh in her eagerness to take him all in.</p><p>“Can...can we get rid of these?” she whispered.</p><p>“Only if we can get rid of these,” he whispered back, snapping the elastic of her shorts.</p><p>Kagome giggled; her entire body was singing of what was to come and she was getting giddy from the familiar tingle that was sweeping over her. The timbre of his voice rumbled through her, and <em> again </em> the fact that he was asking for consent was just…</p><p>Holy <em> hell</em>.</p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” she whispered back, “<em>please</em>.” She yanked at his sweats (yup, no underwear; Kagome had been <em> right</em>), and he tugged at her shorts; they came down together, as Kagome pushed Inuyasha back onto the bed.</p><p>Now, she could fully appreciate him. <em> All </em> of him, and holy <em> fuck</em>, he was glorious. It wasn’t just his chest that was toned; it was everything; her eyes raked eagerly over his form, from his eyes, which were dark and full of need as they took <em> her </em> in (Kagome was extra grateful she’d packed the matching bra and panties); to his chest, which she had already feasted on, thank you very much; to his abs, which were well-defined and countable; to his hips, and his muscular legs, and his…</p><p><em> Well</em>.</p><p>Kagome tried not to rub her hands together in anticipation at the swollen promises that laid between his legs. His cock was <em> stunning</em>: thick, and plush, and already standing at attention for her. And all she could think about was how it might feel in her mouth. How it might feel <em> inside of her</em>. </p><p>Slowly, she approached the edge of the bed. She could see him watching her, his cock twitching in anticipation. She knew he was wondering what she would do next, and how, and why, and she found that she wanted, more than anything, to explore him. To get to know every inch of him. To please him. And, above all, to please herself.</p><p>Kagome kneeled down at the foot of the bed and made her way up his body, pressing her lips to his skin along the way. Her tongue lightly trailed up his left calf, to his knee; she could feel him quivering as she reached the inside of his thigh. Her lips brushed the soft skin there, and she heard him grind out her name as his muscles twitched at her touch. She giggled, then gave it a light, gentle lick; his moans grew louder as she continued her journey up his body.</p><p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/private/643957189585862656/tumblr_JEE2KZhN8wUbe1TaS">  </a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">mickisketch</a></p><hr/><p>She reached his abs, then his chest, and then, finally, when she was face-to-face with him, she molded herself to his form perfectly as her lips found his. One of his hands tangled up in her hair; the other snaked around her waist, and she could feel his claws digging gently into the small of her back. Kagome now was the one who was keening softly; had even Kōga felt this good when they were wrapped up together in warm blankets on an ice-covered outcrop in the mountains?</p><p><em> No</em>. Kagome didn’t think so. Kōga didn’t have Inuyasha’s snark, or his intelligence, or those brilliant bronze eyes that saw into her soul. And he’d been pissed when he saved her at Denali, but he didn’t have Inuyasha’s look of abject terror at her being in danger.</p><p>He also didn’t have Inuyasha’s <em> dick</em>.</p><p>Their tongues intertwining yet again, Kagome pressed her body against him seductively, feeling his hardened length pressing into her panties. He was moving his hips in rhythm with hers, and when he brushed against her most sensitive flesh, she gasped into his mouth and he chuckled.</p><p>“Fuck,” he breathed, “you are so fucking beautiful.”</p><p>And the way that he said <em> that</em>? With such earnestness, such reverence? Well, Kagome very nearly believed him. </p><p>“Here,” she whispered, reaching around to her back, “I think that I might be a bit overdressed now, don’t you think?”</p><p>Inuyasha’s hands gently moved hers aside. “Allow me,” he breathed, “if you want?”</p><p>She nodded, and let her hands go back to the work of feeling his biceps, his shoulders, his hair—whatever they could touch, as he fumbled with the hooks on her bra until he could finally work them free. It fell forward with a <em> snap</em>; Kagome shrugged out of it and tossed it aside, and his hands instantly went to her breasts. He cupped the flesh there reverently, and brought his lips up to gently kiss the soft swell of each one. Kagome threw her head back and savored his moment of exploration, his mouth fitting over one nipple, then the other, his tongue swirling around them generously, his fangs teasing them out to hardened pebbles. Her unquenchable desire for him was already taking hold, and all Kagome could do was clutch at his biceps and allow his magic to take hold, her hips already thrusting against his in her desire to get things <em> going.</em></p><p>But first...she had a little bit more playing to do.</p><p>Kagome steered Inuyasha’s lips back to hers, and she kissed him, using one hand to prop herself up; she let the other now drift down his torso and towards his cock. She ran her fingers through the soft fur that surrounded it, and then encircled the shaft with her hand. He whined, and his kisses grew more insistent, and deeper, and she let out a soft moan as she pictured the places where she would like his cock to be. She smiled into Inuyasha’s lips as his tongue sought hers again, and she pumped him in a soft, steady rhythm, her fingers pressing into the underside of his cock. </p><p>Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore; she <em> had </em> to taste him, and then, she <em> had </em>to fuck him, if he’d let her. Breaking the kiss, Kagome whispered, “Will you let me go down on you?” His eyes grew large, and she felt him nod softly. Kagome didn’t waste any time; she immediately slid back down the length of his body, held his cock firmly in her right hand, and wrapped her lips around him as she took him into her mouth.</p><p>Kagome felt him tense, and then relax, and then tense again under the forcefulness of her actions. In harmony with her hand, which slid back and forth along his shaft, Kagome licked him up and down, spreading his precum and her own saliva, making him slick and slippery to her touch. Her tongue circled the mushroom head of his cock. Inuyasha issued a series of swears, followed by her name, so hard that it nearly made her blush. But Kagome stayed the course, greatly enjoying the way his cock was growing steadily harder in answer to the actions of her mouth, and the way that his hands didn’t seem to know where to go. He was gripping her hair, then her shoulders, then finally he just dropped back against the pillow and fisted the sheets beneath them, his body twisting and twitching as she sucked him off. Every pump of her hand, every thrust of her mouth on him, was making her wetter, and more desirous of <em> him</em>.</p><p>When he moaned loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear and writhed desperately underneath her, his cock now huge and pulsing, Kagome knew: he was <em> close</em>. She pulled off him with a loud <em> pop</em>, her lips vibrating, and looked up at his face. She relished the way his face was flushed; a light sheen of sweat visible across his brow.</p><p>“Ah, <em> fuck</em>, Duchess,” he groaned, “what the <em> fuck </em> are ya doing to me?”</p><p>Kagome jumped to her feet and grinned. “I can’t let you cum <em> alone</em>,” she said. “Unless, you don’t want to…”</p><p>“Oh, <em> no</em>,” he responded immediately, his voice hoarse and choked with lust, “I <em> do. </em>It’s just that…”</p><p>“No condom?” she finished for him. When his ears drooped and he nodded, Kagome laughed. “I’ve got you covered, Taisho,” she said, and reached into her camera bag. She dug around for a moment, and pulled out a condom, which she tossed in his direction. He caught it in one hand, his eyes wide and round. She totally knew that he was wondering just why in the <em> hell </em> she carried condoms in her camera bag, but she also surmised that it probably wouldn’t help the mood if she admitted that it was the one thing she usually carried with her everywhere. A girl liked to be prepared, after all.</p><p>“You take care of <em> that</em>,” she ordered him, nodding at the condom, then pointed at the panties that had been on her body entirely too long, “and I will take care of <em> these</em>.” Kagome tucked her thumbs into the elastic of her panties, and slowly, seductively, pulled them down, shaking her ass at him slightly as she did so. A soft whine, followed by the fumbled tear of the condom’s plastic wrapper, told her that he <em> definitely </em> liked what he saw, and that he was <em> definitely </em>ready for her. When she turned back around, she saw that he already had the condom on, and he was sitting up, arms behind him, and his hands pressing into the mattress supporting him. </p><p>“Oh, good,” she purred, sidling towards him, “you work fast.”</p><p>“Not that fast,” he murmured, holding out his arms so he could help her back onto the bed. “Although I’m hopin’ that you’ll be pretty fucking pleased with my pace.”</p><p>Kagome swung a leg over him and pushed him back down onto the mattress. “I think,” she breathed, ghosting his lips with a tiny lick, “that it’s my pace that will impress you.” She lowered herself just enough that his cock pressed in between the soft folds of her sex, and moaned softly at the slick desire already pooling between her legs. She kissed him fully on the lips as she began to slide him back and forth along the juncture of her thighs, sighing when the head of his cock teased the sensitive pearl that was hidden deep within. His fangs pricked her lower lip, and almost immediately she felt her body tensing up—how did he know that she fucking <em> loved </em> the feel of fangs on her skin?</p><p>“More,” she breathed, and tilted her head up so he could have better access to her throat. He obliged her eagerly, letting his fangs drag along the tender flesh of her neck, and as she continued to slip his cock along the whole of her sex, playing with him; her body grew even more taut at the way he was kissing her, playing with her, and she knew it was time. </p><p>“Inuyasha,” she murmured, “I want you inside of me. Can I? Are you ready?”</p><p>His arms went around her as he crushed her to him in a heated and pulsing kiss. “Fuck <em> yes</em>,” he breathed. “I’m ready when you are.”</p><p>“Then,” she whispered back, “Now?” He nodded, and she took hold of his cock firmly in one hand to steady it, then pressed her lips to his as she dropped down and sheathed him fully inside her. His hands immediately found her hips, to help steady her.</p><p>Kagome’s eyes blew open wide at the <em> feel </em> of Inuyasha. She had noticed his size as she sucked him off, but inside of her... <em> well</em>. He was stretching her, yet her body was tightening too around him, telling her that the most important thing she had to do in that moment was <em> move</em>. </p><p>So she did.</p><p>Slowly at first, up the length of his cock, forward just enough to kiss him, and then back down so she was once again fully seated. Kagome took her time, enjoying the flicker of pleasure at the way that her body embraced him, of the way his cock pressed against her walls. The resistance she felt—from both her own body and from his—drove her on, enjoying everything and desiring <em> more</em>: the feel of his hands tenderly guiding her up and down, the feel of his lips on hers, the feel of his fangs on her skin, and the feel of his cock pulsing inside her—all of it was making her drunk on Inuyasha. She looked down at him, and she saw his own expression was equally needy, but there was also something gentle, and caring, in it, that both thrilled her and terrified her. She <em> liked </em> seeing a softer, tender side to him, but…</p><p>It scared her. A lot.</p><p>But he was too sexy and she felt too good to dwell on it.<br/>She wanted to keep <em> enjoying </em> him… all night.<br/>Or however long it took.</p><p>“Kagome,” he whispered, his claws softly raking her back as she moved, “you’re amazing.” Kagome smiled, and gave a little circle of her hips in response. He groaned loudly, then grabbed her hips again, now thrusting up to meet her each time she moved, his need replacing his tenderness.</p><p>Kagome sat up, and her thighs squeezed around his hips, now actively lifting and lowering herself onto his cock. His hands went up to her breasts, his thumbs lightly caressing her nipples, and the added sensation there caused her to cry out his name breathily. She saw his eyes light up with pleasure, and she increased the quickness of her thrusts, driven suddenly by a desire for them to chase their orgasms together—to experience what it would be like to get caught up in the tornado with him, metaphorically this time, but no less real.</p><p>The shift in position meant a shift in how he was hitting her inside, and she could feel him rubbing up against the rough patch of tissue that elicited an explosion of pleasure. She sat back a little bit farther, and the pressure continued to mount, her body resisting him, growing so tightly wound that any second, one added burst could cause her to become undone.</p><p>But she <em> wanted </em> that...she <em> needed </em> that...and so she activated her glutes, and gently removed his hands from her breasts, holding them steady in hers, for an added means of support. When he saw what she was doing—when he <em> felt </em> what she was doing—his breath hitched, his body jerked, and she could see him desperately trying to hold on, to make sure that she too got her climax.</p><p>“Let go, Inuyasha,” she whispered harshly, their bodies now moving as one, his cock so hard and tight pressing against her walls that she was sure that it would break at any moment. So when he moaned her name in response, when he let himself go, that was all she needed too to find the release she so desperately sought. Her body seized, and shook, and she felt him jerk unsteadily up and into her several more times as he orgasmed at last, his hands gripping her hips so tightly that Kagome felt his claws prick her skin. That added sensation was all she needed to send her into a swift and immediate orgasmic aftershock, her vision blacking out from the tidal waves of pleasure he’d unleashed for her. Her senses had narrowed to focus only on what she could feel, and hear: she felt his cock withdrawing, and she heard him calling her name as she fell forward, exhausted and sated from their efforts. </p><p>The next thing she knew, Kagome was resting against his chest; he was holding her tightly, the claws on his left hand lightly combing through her hair, his right arm snaked around her shoulders. Her right arm was thrown carelessly across his torso, and she was inhaling his soft, musky scent. It filled her nostrils, and it set her at complete and total ease. He had pulled up the blankets around them, and Kagome tried to remember the last time she had felt so cozy, so safe, so secure. Maybe with Kōga? But not quite as cozy. No… cuddling with Inuyasha was something she… she liked. Too much. Far <em> far </em> too much.</p><p>“That was…” he breathed. “You’re fucking incredible, Duchess.”</p><p>Kagome smiled into his chest. “You’re not so bad yourself, you know,” she said lightly. “We should do that again sometime.”</p><p>There was a long pause, and Kagome nearly wondered if she had said something wrong, but then Inuyasha spoke again. His face was now buried in her hair, and she could hear him breath in so deeply it tickled the skin of her neck. Then he spoke, barely above a whisper.</p><p>“When I first...when I started my PhD program,” he began, “I was married. To a woman named Kikyo. And fuck, Kagome, she was my entire <em> life</em>. I thought I loved her more than anything in the whole world. Except for one thing.”</p><p>“Tornadoes?” Kagome asked sleepily, her fingers tracing delicate circles on his chest. She was so tired. What was he doing, talking at a time like <em> this</em>? </p><p>It was time to snuggle. And sleep. Maybe regroup for Round 2. Not talk.<br/>But apparently, Inuyasha didn’t know that.</p><p>“She always told me I loved tornadoes more than her,” he confirmed. “And she demanded that I choose. She asked me to leave the Ph.D. program, or she would leave me. She made me choose which I loved more. Her, or tornadoes.”</p><p>“She made you choose?” she replied, slightly roused by his story, but not so much that she was willing to move. He was too warm and she was too comfortable to adjust her position. </p><p>And besides, if she did, she would have to <em> look </em> at him, act like she was really listening, when in fact, a wave of nausea was running through her body. This was a...a confession. Of something deep, and private, and maybe a little bit dark. Something only two people in an intimate relationship should tell each other.</p><p>And Inuyasha and Kagome? This was <em> sex</em>, and nothing more.<br/>Right?<br/>(The fact that Kagome had to ask herself if she was right freaked her out even more.)</p><p>“<em>Yeah</em>,” he replied, and she felt a little bit sick.</p><p>“Kikyo didn’t like that I said no, I wasn’t gonna give up my dream,” Inuyasha continued. (Dear god, how much was he going to say to her?) “So she packed her bags, and left. Not even a goodbye; not even a note. Just up and left. And I went fucking out of my mind: with guilt, with anger. So what did I do?” He laughed bitterly. “I told the old Ox about it then I went out chasing. It was a good tornado day, and thought maybe it’d clear my head. I used to drive an even older, piece-of-shit Jeep back then. You know why I don’t anymore?” She heard him pause, and sigh, and he nuzzled her hair. She tried very hard not to stiffen up under his touch.</p><p>“Because that day, I was so fucking preoccupied with my wife leaving me that I didn’t respect the F3 that was bearing down on me until it was almost too late. I threw myself out of the car at the last fucking second, hit the ground, and rolled away <em> at the last fucking second</em>, then watched as the tornado ate up my car. I watched as a giant wooden pole impaled the driver’s side. It would’ve killed me if I hadn’t bailed that last fucking second. So...yeah.” He snuggled her closer, wrapping her up in his arms. “Today, Duchess, you scared <em> the shit </em> out of me, because you almost died. Same way I almost died. And <em> fuck</em>, I would do <em> anything </em> to keep you safe.”</p><p>A pit was now solidly forming in Kagome’s stomach, but she desperately tried to push it away. “Because I’m the photographer sent by one of the top magazines in the country, and you can’t let me die on your watch?” she teased him.</p><p>He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Because protecting you, Duchess, is the single most important thing to me right now.” He paused. “Even more than chasing that perfect storm.”</p><p>Inuyasha snuggled down into her, his chin now resting against her throat. “Sweet dreams, Kagome,” he whispered, and he held her tightly as he drifted off to sleep.</p><p>Kagome, though, lay there wide awake. As Inuyasha had told her his story, she felt ice take hold of her—starting in her belly, then rapidly spreading to the tips of her limbs. Because she <em> realized </em> now that he was, in fact, different from all the other men that she had fucked before: on assignments, or otherwise. He wasn’t like Kōga, who’d saved her life. And he wasn’t simply one of the many faceless conquests from her life, like pages in a flip book.</p><p>No. Inuyasha Taisho was a different man. <em> Special</em>.<br/>Who liked her. A <em> lot</em>.<br/>Who didn’t deserve to be fucked and forgotten.</p><p>And those feelings she felt were definitely… well… nothing she could think about. Not now, not ever.</p><p>“Oh, <em> fuck</em>,” she whispered, her eyes wide and her mind completely awake, despite the hour of the night. “<em>Fuck</em>.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Big One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kagome and Inuyasha are pulled away from the aftermath of last night's decisions by a stormy morning. Will they see a tornado? And will Kagome get her perfect shot?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The <em>click, click, click</em> of keys forced Kagome awake.</p><p>Her eyelids were still heavy with sleep. Where was she? Was this her room? </p><p>The mattress to her left was warm. <em>Depressed</em>. As though there were…</p><p>“Mornin’.” A low chuckle caused her eyes to shoot open. She rolled over and saw that she was, in fact, <em>not</em> in her room, and she was, in fact, <em>not</em> alone.</p><p>“Sorry that I was workin’ in bed.” Inuyasha reached down and affectionately brushed the hair out of her eyes. His hair was tied back in a bun, and he was shirtless, his laptop open to show a series of brightly colored squall formations sitting atop a map. He grinned down at her, and Kagome felt a little bit sick. “Here,” he said, his voice bouncing with excitement, “take a look.” He waited for her to sit up, his golden eyes gleaming, and she realized with horror that she was still naked, that she had <em>slept naked in Inuyasha’s</em> <em>bed</em>. He must have noticed her discomfort, because he lifted his laptop up, then helped her with the sheets so that she could sit up modestly. He pulled her in close to her body, and Kagome cursed her increasing heartbeat. He rested the laptop on both of their laps, one arm about her shoulders, and Kagome tried not to think about how she fit so perfectly, so <em>cozily</em>, snuggling into him. </p><p>She… she wanted to <em>run</em>, but also… she wanted to <em>stay right where she was</em>.</p><p>“Look,” he said, using his free hand to point at the screen. “See the cells developing southwest of here? There’s gonna be some big shit happening really soon. We should get ourselves up and moving.” He nodded to the table. “I know you’re not a morning person, so I got your coffee already.”</p><p>“You—you—I—right,” was all she could manage to get out.</p><p>Inuyasha grinned again, his fangs pressing into his lower lip, then closed his laptop. He leaned over, tilted her chin up, and pressed his lips to hers. Kagome closed her eyes and allowed herself to lean into the kiss, temporarily hushing the part of her mind that was resisting the softness and affection that he was bestowing on her. </p><p>“Good morning,” he whispered. “How didja sleep?”</p><p>“I slept f—f—fine,” she stuttered.</p><p>“Great,” he breathed, leaning back against the headboard and tucking her into his chest. Kagome could feel him beaming. “I honestly can’t remember the last time I slept so well, <em>especially</em> in a hotel like this.” His face settled into a slight smirk. “Maybe tonight we can <em>sleep well</em> too, huh?” he asked her lightly. </p><p>“Sure.” Her voice was just as light. “That could be fun.”</p><p><em>Fun</em>? It could be <em>fun</em>? Kagome wanted to crawl back under the covers and hide.</p><p>Why was she being so weird? She’d woken up next to guys before. She’d done a whole lot <em>more</em> than just wake up next to guys before. And she’d always been able to handle herself. But here, around Inuyasha, with his soft smiles and tender touches and earnest kisses? The way that he asked if they could do this, <em>again</em>? </p><p>It was making Kagome <em>feel things</em>. And Kagome Higurashi did not <em>feel things</em>. Kagome Higurashi…</p><p>“Bathroom,” she choked out, throwing off the covers and getting to her feet. “I—I need—”</p><p>She was sure she looked like the biggest spaz in the world, but at that moment? She didn’t care. All Kagome cared about was getting away from Inuyasha Taisho. Away from the way her stomach was doing flip-flops when he touched her. The way that her body sang when he kissed her. </p><p>Kagome grabbed her clothes from the table, where Inuyasha had neatly folded them (<em>seriously?</em>), then she stumbled into the bathroom, closing the door and locking it.</p><p>Kagome used the toilet first. She then turned the water to the shower on, in order to mask the <em>real</em> reason she needed to be in there for so long. As steam began to take over the little room, she pressed her hands into the countertop, and stared at herself in the mirror, the face of the woman looking back at her openly displaying confusion and fear.</p><p>
  <em>What do I do?</em>
</p><p>The night before had easily been some of the best sex of her life. Inuyasha had been sweet, and attentive, and loving, and passionate; there was a <em>realness</em> to sex with him that had been missing with all the other guys. A realness that she didn’t know she wanted—that she didn’t know that she <em>needed</em>.</p><p>And then he had <em>confessed</em> that… <em>secret</em>: that he had been married before, and his ex-wife had demanded that she choose between her and tornadoes. (Seriously, who would do that? What kind of woman would demand that the person they love give up everything <em>they</em> love to be with them?)</p><p>Kagome scoffed, and then, because she needed <em>more time to think</em>, she got into the shower. She closed her eyes and splashed the water on her face, then turned it up to the nozzle to let the water hit it fast, and hard. Her mind was full of Inuyasha, and his ex-wife, and the fact that he had almost <em>died</em>. Because of that Kikyo.</p><p>Kagome bit back a growl at the thought of Inuyasha with another woman. <em>No</em>. He was a grown man, and he was allowed to have lived a life, complete with girlfriends and wives (who were not Kagome). And she was a grown woman, who had <em>certainly</em> enjoyed life before Inuyasha Taisho, and would continue to do so after she left Bumfuck, Oklahoma, and went back to Chicago.</p><p>But why did that thought seem so hollow? Why did she feel like—<br/>
Like she wanted something more? Something that—<br/>
Something that could never be.</p><p>She was from the big city; he was living in the country. In a few days, she would pack her bags, head back to civilization, and edit her photos for the story. She would continue to live her life, and he would continue to live his, as they had: separate. Inuyasha was just one more notch on Kagome’s belt.</p><p>Except he didn’t feel like another notch. No. He felt like…<br/>
Kagome ran her hands through her hair under the water, reaching for the shampoo, then the conditioner.<br/>
Inuyasha felt… well, <em>fuck</em>. He felt like he could be something <em>more</em>.<br/>
Something she wasn’t allowed to have, or to want, or to need.</p><p>She rinsed out her hair and began to wash her body, running her hands over her breasts, down her belly, over her thighs. The places Inuyasha had traced so delicately with his claws and fangs the night before. Places she wanted desperately for him to touch again; places that she knew she should never let him touch again if she wanted to survive this assignment.</p><p>Kagome lived her life on her own terms. Above all, she strived to be the best at what she did. And along with that decision came consequences. Among those: while she enjoyed the company of others, especially men, there was no one waiting for her anywhere—not in any of her assignment locales, and certainly not in Chicago. Kagome’s career meant she lived an incredible life, but it was, ultimately, a lonely life.</p><p>So, no matter what she felt—and no matter <em>who</em> she felt it for—Kagome always left those feelings behind. </p><p>The problem was, she had never felt anything like this before. Not for <em>anyone</em>. And if she were to, say, spend another night in Inuyasha’s bed, then it would have devastating consequences. Because she was feeling things. Scary things. Big things. Things that a photojournalist should not, could not, feel.</p><p><em>So</em>, Kagome resolved, turning off the shower and grabbing two towels off the rack—one for her hair and one for her body—she was going to have to tell him. That they couldn’t do this again. And maybe that—that they couldn’t be alone together again. Maybe she would request a switch, to ride with Totosai. </p><p>Maybe that would be for the best.</p><p>Kagome dried herself off and put on her clothes from the night before. It wasn’t ideal, but it would suffice for now. She towel-dried her hair the best she could, then hung both towels back on the rack. She took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.</p><p>Inuyasha was sitting at the table now; he had put on cargo pants and a gold t-shirt that exactly matched his eyes. He was hunched over his laptop and taking frantic notes, but his face lit up when he saw her come out of the bathroom. “Kagome,” he said, stumbling to his feet so quickly the chair overturned. “We need—”</p><p>Inuyasha’s phone rang, and he growled in frustration. “I know, old Ox,” he bellowed into the phone. “I fucking <em>know</em>. I see it.”</p><p>Kagome relaxed a little. Whatever she and Inuyasha needed to say to each other could wait. </p><p>“<em>We need to move fast, Taisho</em>.” Totosai’s voice was gravelly and rough this early in the morning. “<em>I know what you said about Kagome and mornings, so get packed up; I’ll go bang on her door.</em>”</p><p>“NO,” Inuyasha shouted as Kagome froze. “No—it’s okay. I’ll take care of it. She’s next to me. I got it.”</p><p>“<em>Hurry, Taisho</em>,” Totosai impressed. “<em>Monsters are already coming up from the southwest. The Kansas side upgraded to high risk 10 minute ago. We need to get east fast if we want a chance at intercepting them.</em>”</p><p>“I fucking got it Ox! I’ll see you in a bit.” Inuyasha ended the call, then turned to Kagome. She could see the excitement that was burning in his eyes. And she knew: the same excitement was burning in hers too.</p><p><em>Every</em> conversation that they needed to have could wait.</p><p>“I’ll go get dressed,” she said immediately, interrupting the breath he was taking. “And meet you down at the Jeep.”</p><p>Thoughts of changing her ride-along had flown out of her head the moment she saw the spark flaring in his gorgeous golden eyes.</p><p>“Pack your bags, Duchess,” he said playfully. “We’ve got some tornadoes to catch.”</p>
<hr/><p>The ride along I-40 into Kansas was quiet. Kagome clutched her coffee, her eyes fixed on Inuyasha, her camera bag at her feet. He was tense, his eyes roving between the road, his phone was clipped to its holder, and the radar maps of the oncoming storm were on the screen. Occasionally he talked to Totosai over the two-way, arguing over what the best intercept trajectory was. He wasn’t playing any music today; she sensed that whatever he and Totosai had seen in the models and from the radar, it was fulfilling the promise of big storms they’d made yesterday and Kagome was definitely down for <em>big storms</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha still owed her a tornado worthy of the perfect shot, after all. And Kagome still aimed to collect.</p><p>It was good they had the distraction of a potential tornado. Because when she’d met him at the Jeep, Inuyasha had been a big cagey: not really looking at her, shooting her shy smiles, his eyes beaming at her. As if now that they were out of the safety and privacy of the motel room, everything was more <em>real</em>, and neither could really deal with that. Like they were fucking sixteen years old or something.</p><p>
<a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/644763271289864192/chapter-8-of-chasing-the-vortex-is-heeeereee">

</a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>Yet Kagome couldn’t help but feel a little tingle down her spine when she thought about the delicate dance they were doing. Because she <em>liked</em> that he was being shy and awkward around her; it was cute, endearing, and it suited him perfectly. </p><p>She was <em>fucked</em>, wasn’t she?</p><p>The fact that Kagome found it cute may have annoyed her more than the fact that he was behaving so sweetly. She tried not to pay attention to his ears, one of which was always focused on her, even when he was driving. Instead she focused on the road in front of them, on the anvil extending into the sky, on the <em>dark greenish shelf </em>extending down from the storm she <em>swore</em> she could see rotating.</p><p>Just then, Inuyasha shouted and grabbed the radio. “We’ve got a visual,” he hissed when Totosai answered. “Kagome, where are we?”</p><p>Kagome opened the map on her phone. “About five miles west of Truth or Consequences, Kansas.”</p><p>“About five miles west of Truth or Consequences, Kansas,” he told Totosai. “Get back to me when you’re in position.” He hung up the receiver, then pointed across Kagome to her right <em>at exactly the shelf she’d noticed</em>. “See down that way?” he said. “Look at the size of that fucker.” </p><p>Kagome followed his finger, and she saw it, a dip in the wall cloud that was rapidly descending from the sky, swirling fury that was coiling rapidly around itself.  The cell was moving rapidly perpendicular to them; it was going to cross their line of vision fairly soon. Kagome looked expectantly over at Inuyasha, assuming that he was going to want to try and get some probes down before it crossed their path. </p><p>But instead of swerving off the highway to get closer to the storm, Inuyasha continued to drive on I-40, although he did press his foot to the gas and speed up considerably.</p><p>“Kagome,” he said to her, “are there any side roads where we can turn and try to cut this thing off?”</p><p>Kagome looked at her map. “In about a mile,” she said, “it looks like there’s a turnoff that’s going southeast and should let us cross paths with the storm.”</p><p>“Perfect.” He was being curt with her, but this time, Kagome knew that it wasn’t because he was an ass. It was because time was short, and the funnel cloud looked massive. This chase required all of Inuyasha’s attention to get them in and out safely.</p><p>“Right there!” she shouted as the side road connected with the state highway came into view. Inuyasha turned onto it, following her direction. Kagome clung to her armrests, the car bumping and jostling over potholes as Inuyasha drove at breakneck speed. </p><p>As they got closer, Kagome paid more careful attention to the whole of the storm. She could see the massive anvil reaching into the sky. She could see the rain wall, and she could see the massive swirl of dust as the enormous tornadic cylinder finally touched the ground. Dirt and debris got sucked in, turning the pristine silver clouds an ombre of browns and golds and grays. As the funnel made its way across the ground, the bottom of the tornado shaft appeared almost soft, like made from cotton filling; above it, the funnel looked almost smooth, creating a shimmering effect, and all throughout there were clouds twisting and gyrating, as if the tornado itself had a pulse.</p><p>Inuyasha made a sharp turn on another side road, now driving parallel to the storm. He was still speeding along, their bodies bouncing uncomfortably on the Jeep’s hard seats. The rain from the storm came down in sheets in the distance, but behind it the air was dry, the sky blue, only a few clouds to be seen. </p><p>Then, the Jeep came to an abrupt halt, leaving a cloud of dirt in its wake. They were stopped, and the tornado was getting away from them!</p><p>“What are you doing?” Kagome asked, bewildered, but Inuyasha stood up in the Jeep and held out a finger to her.</p><p>“This one’s a monster, Duchess,” he said. “A big, beautiful monster. Probably an F4. Maybe even an F5. Get your camera ready, because I think your perfect shot is coming.”</p><p>“But what about the probes?” She didn’t understand. If it was such a perfect and <em>big</em> tornado, why wasn’t he getting as much information about it as he could?</p><p>Inuyasha laughed loudly. “This monster is too big for a probe, Kagome,” he said. “Do we want a repeat of yesterday? No, we don’t,” he added when Kagome opened her mouth to protest, “this one? We stay far the fuck away. And we watch. And you take your pictures. I <em>think</em> I got us in a <em>photogenic spot</em> for this,” He nodded at her, and Kagome stood for a moment, dazed by the massive storm cell before them, and then she realized what she was doing and dropped down to her bag. She took out her camera, and her telephoto lens. </p><p>“Go on,” he told her. “Do your thing, Duchess.” Then placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to ya.”</p><p>His assurance was all it took. Kagome bounced out of the car, gripping her equipment, and immediately went about setting up. She attached the telephoto lens to her camera, and set the whole thing up on her tripod stick. She scanned the sight lines of the tornado, trying to figure out the best place to set up. Kagome shivered as the temperature around them dropped suddenly; she wished she had a t-shirt to wear, not just a tank top. </p><p>“Not too far,” Inuyasha chuckled, and she realized he was right there with her. Under Inuyasha’s careful watch (which was both endearing <em>and</em> annoying), she set her tripod stick on the side of the road. She could feel Inuyasha’s eyes on her, then on the storm, then back on her, and she knew: </p><p>Were there any danger at all—should the storm change trajectory and head towards them—he would get them out of there. He would protect her. She would be <em>safe</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha and Kagome stood and watched the storm, and Kagome snapped shot after shot. </p><p>Through her lens, Kagome could see individual filaments of wind twisting around the outside of the vortex, looking almost like ropes weaved into the spinning column. To their left, the rain wall was lit up by the sky, a brilliant gray and pink; the ropes of cloud and wind were a haunting yellow green against the pink backdrop. Behind the storm, the sky was a brilliant blue, little white clouds dotting the horizon. The tornado, with its beautiful, but eerie, blend of grays and golden brown, was a dangerous divider between the violent darkness of the storm and the brightness of the clear sky. </p><p>It was… <em>magical</em>. Magnificent. Stunning. All the adjectives that Kagome had ever heard thrown around to describe the mighty wonders of nature, but in this case? This tornado met every descriptor in the book, and then some. The massive clouds above the funnel were spun sugar, radiating out in elegant streams of smoke and color. Through the lens she could see the tornado feeding itself, the rotation tightening as it grew in strength and size.  Her camera clicked as she captured the defined line separating the field of debris being thrown by the storm and the fury of the rotation.  Kagome zoomed in as much as she dared, focusing on every aspect of the tornado, attempting to capture every single angle that she could. </p><p>As Kagome snapped her photos, she was highly aware of Inuyasha’s presence, his forearms crossed, his eyes and ears vacillating between her and the storm, his hair tied back in a ponytail and whipping about in the steadily increasing winds. She paused for a moment, and saw the look of wonder, of awe, on his face, and she couldn’t help but smile a little as she went back to her camera. </p><p>Slowly the tornado passed to the northeast, and Kagome stood up straight, holding her camera in place gently. She picked it up and nodded at Inuyasha, and together they returned to the Jeep, where they watched the most beautiful storm they would probably ever see zoom off into the horizon. Even from this distance, Kagome felt a terror, and a reverence, for the tornado. She could watch in awe, and rejoice in its glory, in its might, but she knew: were she even remotely within its path, it had the power to crush her to bits. Kagome shivered, and she felt Inuyasha’s arm slip about her shoulders to pull her close.</p><p>To keep her warm, and to comfort her.<br/>
Kagome found that she didn’t mind.</p><p>Being here—doing this with Inuyasha, watching the storm with Inuyasha—it felt… good. Comfortable. Like it should have felt, all along. Not like the first days, where they bickered and fought and he didn’t respect her work and she didn’t respect his. Through all the awkwardness, there was a newfound regard that they had for each other, each understanding—and appreciating—the other’s role. She turned to him a little, and saw that his eyes were glowing against the darkened morning sky. She offered him a little smile, and was about to say something—<em>anything</em>—when the radio pinged and Totosai’s voice came over the two-way.</p><p>Inuyasha grumbled and bent down to pick up the receiver. “Talk to me, Ox,” he said gruffly.</p><p>“<em>Taisho</em>.” Totosai’s voice was static-y. “<em>Where are you? Are you and Kagome safe?</em>”</p><p>Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other, surprised. “Yeah, we’re fine,” he said. “Why?”</p><p>“<em>I got a read on the trajectory of that storm that’s crossing I-40 as we speak,</em>” Totosai said. “<em>That thing has the potential to be an F5. But… it’s path Inuyasha— if it keeps heading where it’s heading…</em>”</p><p>“Where, Ox?” he demanded, pressing the receiver so hard that Kagome thought that he might break it. “Where is it heading? <em>Where?</em>”</p><p>There was a long few seconds of silence, and then Totosai spoke again. “<em>It’s headed for a town,</em>” he replied. “<em>Truth or Consequences, Kansas is in the path of the storm.</em>”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. How to Save a Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Inuyasha and Kagome arrive at a town devastated by the tornado. Inuyasha began to frantically search for survivors, but is angered by Kagome's actions.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of Chasing the Vortex. We are putting a CW on this one: please pay attention to it before you read.</p><p>This chapter contains descriptions of death and injuries (in some cases, severe).</p><p>Thank you!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Please turn around, please turn around, please turn around,” Inuyasha murmured as he hit the gas, praying under his breath to the tornado that was charging ahead of them to swerve. <em> Shit</em>, let it pull a 180 and chase <em> him</em>, as long as it didn’t stay its current course.</p><p>Tornadoes were beautiful and powerful and majestic, out <em> there</em>, in the unpopulated plains of the midwestern United States. Nothing to hit but the occasional farmhouse and cow. Except when there <em> were </em> other things in its way.</p><p>“Is there a chance it <em> will </em> turn around?”<br/>
<em> Right. </em>Kagome was in the car with him.</p><p>Kagome, who he’d slept with the night before, and felt things he was pretty sure that he hadn’t even felt for Kikyo. Things that he couldn’t think about right now. Not when it was possible that one of the biggest fucking tornadoes he’d ever set eyes on was on the ground and moving toward a town.</p><p>“Always a chance,” Inuyasha said. He couldn’t even look at Kagome lest he get distracted. Because he knew that the odds were stacked <em> against </em> Truth or Consequences.</p><p><em> Inuyasha, come in</em>.<br/>
Totosai’s voice blared through the two-way.</p><p>“Here.” Inuyasha clicked the button, his eyes still on the road (<em>on the tornado racing rapidly farther and farther ahead of them</em>) and his foot on the accelerator.</p><p>
  <em> Where are you? </em>
</p><p>“40 heading east as fast as I can get away with,” Inuyasha answered; they were about to hit the rain curtain and lose sight of the tornado.</p><p><em> Confirm direct hit on Truth or Consequences. </em><br/>
Totosai’s voice wavered as he spoke. Inuyasha only knew of one other time when Totosai’s voice had sounded like that: when the old Ox had recalled the time he’d been chasing near Joplin, Missouri. And what the town looked like after the tornadoes went through.</p><p>Inuyasha didn’t know what to say; all he could do was drive a little faster. Wish a little harder. Pray that the fucking behemoth they’d just fucking <em> drooled over </em> had lost some steam before hitting that goddamned town.</p><p>“C—copy,” Inuyasha answered, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. “W—where should I go?”</p><p>
  <em> Main Street. We’re almost there. Be… prepared. </em>
</p><p>“10-4.” Inuyasha clicked off the radio.</p><p>Fifteen minutes ago, that wedge was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Now, though, it was the ugliest thing he could imagine; it was all he could do to get into town and see for himself what the tornado had done. He could feel the ice in his gut forming and radiating out to the rest of his body.</p><p>But this wasn’t the time to think about that. This was the time to see how fast his Jeep could go. How good his all-wheel drive was. Whether he could make it over downed power lines and debris. Whether he could make it to the path of destruction and actually do some fucking good.</p><p>“Inuyasha?” Right. He kept forgetting that Kagome was there. “H—how bad is it?”</p><p>“Not gonna know until we get there,” Inuyasha replied gravely, though they were no more than 5 minutes out at this point. “If you ever ask the question why we do what we do, well… to try to… to do <em> something </em> to help people…”</p><p>He couldn’t continue, because even then, on the outskirts of the little town, Inuyasha already knew. He could hear the sirens, and he could see the path of debris, which started as only a few branches and some twisted powerline poles, but soon there were piles of wood and flashing lights and twisted metal, even in the rain of the storm.</p><p>“The… the turnoff for Truth or Consequences is on the left… Inuyasha,” Kagome whispered, and he nodded and took the left.</p><p><em> Be… prepared. </em><br/>
The old Ox’s words had been prescient. Because the closer he moved to the town, the more husks of buildings he started to see. Barns reduced to splinters, houses with only single walls still standing, roofs strewn halfway across the road, and flashing lights, <em> so many flashing lights</em>.</p><p>“Is there a reason you’re not stopping?” Kagome asked, her head turning left and right, trying to take everything in.</p><p>“Because there are already people here helping,” Inuyasha answered, his emotional brain shutting down so he was able to do what needed to come next. “Farther up though… probably not as many people can get there.”</p><p>Inuyasha kept driving. Because the further along the path he went, the more challenging it was going to become, and the fewer rescuers could actually make it to those who needed help. All-terrain was about to become the <em> only </em> terrain.</p><p>Just as Inuyasha predicted, the sirens became fewer and the road became more treacherous; he was driving over powerlines (sometimes still live) and branches and debris. The tornado had raced through, leaving instant devastation, and was followed by the rain, which was abating as the storm barreled out of town, and back into farmland.</p><p>Finally, Inuyasha saw the bright blue truck with the DOW come into sight, parked at the edge of the road in front of a downed tree. The old Ox and Shippo were outside the truck, talking with what looked to be a paramedic. As Inuyasha’s Jeep drove by, Inuyasha saw the haunt in Totosai’s eyes, and he knew without asking: this tornado had claimed lives.</p><p>“Wait—wasn’t that Totosai?” Kagome’s voice pierced his contemplation. “Aren’t we going to stop?”</p><p>“No, Kagome!” Inuyasha snapped, frustrated that she’d yanked him away from what he needed to be thinking about. “We’re gonna keep going, until there are no more fucking sirens and there are still people who might be dyin’. And I am gonna get out of this fucking car and see if I can find people. And hope to <em> fuck </em> that this monster hopped off the ground just past where the ambulances stopped bein’ able to access.”</p><p>He wanted to shake her, to scream at her. Why the fuck was she asking these stupid questions? Could she not see what was all around her? Did she not realize that the debris needed to be cleared before rescuers could make it to those unlucky souls at the <em> end </em>of a tornado’s path?</p><p>“Dear god…” was the only thing that Kagome said as they continued.</p><p>Because as they drove on, the debris and destruction did not reduce, but the rescue vehicles and rescuers did. Each branch across the road stopped more and more people, each downed power line one more obstacle that an ambulance couldn’t cross. Each cry for help calling away more able-bodied folks from venturing farther along the path. Inuyasha drove on, over the lines and sheet metal, around the downed branches and by the overturned cars. Until finally, they came to a downed tree that crossed the road from fence to fence, no way around. It was time to get out of the car.</p><p>“What can I—” Kagome followed Inuyasha out of the Jeep.</p><p>“<em>Nothing</em>,” Inuyasha snarled. There were live wires littering their path like unearthed worms, and glass and wood and steel innards of buildings strewn across ground; it wasn’t safe. “Just… stay back.”</p><p>Inuyasha trudged forward, focusing his senses. The air smelled of ozone, rain, dirt, wood. And the storm’s thunder still rumbled, interrupting his concentration. Inuyasha had never come across the aftermath of a tornado so soon after the tornado tore through, so he could only hope that his instincts would lead him to where he needed to go.</p><p>Then, a waft of something—<em>blood</em>—in the air.<br/>
To the north.<br/>
Toward a small cluster of houses that had been railroaded.</p><p>Inuyasha took off, jumping over the bisected trees and the crackling wires. The closer he got, the more he could smell it. Blood, and vomit. Soon his ears followed his nose, picking up whimpers and gurgles and small voices crying out for help.</p><p>Where? Where was the whimper coming from? Inuyasha scanned the area, concentrating, <em> concentrating</em>. There was more than one concentration of scents and sounds. Inuyasha closed his eyes, inhaling as deeply as he could. Following the most intense smell of blood first, turning in its direction. When he opened his eyes, he saw it. There was a silver car that looked like it had been put through a compactor: <em> that </em> was where the most intense blood smell was coming from.</p><p>Inuyasha ran toward it, listening for sounds of life. <em> Breathing</em>. It was ragged and uneven, but it was there. And…<em>clicking</em>? No. That was coming from behind him, coming from…</p><p>Inuyasha turned back to see that he was not alone in his chase. Kagome’s face was obscured by the unfeeling glass of her lens. Watching him—watching <em> devastation</em>—from the safety of her camera.</p><p>He felt sick. Kagome Higurashi was in this for the perfect shot, and she was in it for the thrill. He could feel his heart shattering as he watched her, heard the <em> click click click </em> of her camera grabbing those shots that were going to win her the Pulitzer. He’d never felt so used in his life, never hated tornadoes as much as in that moment, never wished he’d never met someone so furiously as that moment. Because, he’d opened up to her. Given something of <em> himself </em> to her. All to serve her fucking thrill.</p><p><b>No</b>. He couldn’t think about that now, not when he <em> knew </em> that there were people who needed help. People he could hear; people he could smell. Kagome Higurashi didn’t fucking matter. And after that moment, Kagome Higurashi no longer fucking <em> existed</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha turned back to the crumpled car, no longer paying attention to the camera rat behind him, and ran. If she got electrocuted? That was her own fucking fault.</p><p>“Hey!” Inuyasha called toward the slumped over body in the car. He could finally hear their heartbeat; it was irregular, and their breathing was no more than labored wheezing. “I’m comin’; I can get ya out.”</p><p>The car had been tossed several times. The windows had been blown out, and from what it looked like, the driver was crushed in the metal, unable to open the destroyed door or crawl through the demolished windshield.</p><p>Finally Inuyasha was close enough to see the person’s eyes, which were wide and unfocused. A human man. Middle-aged. With a pushbroom gray mustache and a bald head. The blood scent of him was overpowering.</p><p>“I’m gonna help, okay?” Inuyasha said softly, pooling his yōki and using all his strength to rip the crumpled door off its hinges.</p><p>The man was still buckled in, with gashes across his broken body from where the shattered glass had turned into shrapnel in the tornado’s violent winds. Inuyasha didn’t know how to lift him out. Didn’t know what was broken and what was intact, or if simply by relieving pressure from the man’s legs, he’d kill him.</p><p>Inuyasha didn’t know what to do.</p><p>“Medic! Help! Over here!” Kagome’s voice tore Inuyasha away from the man that he was scared was dying right in front of him. And as he looked over the horizon, he saw several people rushing toward his location, including men carrying a stretcher and first aid kits.</p><p>Inuyasha waved at them, then turned back to the man. “I’m gonna let them handle the rest. Help’s on the way, Mr….?”</p><p>“Mu—shin,” the man wheezed; his eyes focusing on Inuyasha for a second, flashing with relief.</p><p>Inuyasha smiled weakly in return.</p><p>Suddenly, a whimper. Somewhere off in the distance. Weak, desperate, small.</p><p>A sense of foreboding came over Inuyasha, so intense that he started to run. He <em> needed </em> to find where the whimper was coming from, as if he <em> knew </em> that the owner of that voice would die if he didn’t find them soon.</p><p>Was it one of the piles of rubble that used to be a house?<br/>
Inuyasha deeply inhaled again, filtering out the scent of Mushin’s blood. Searching for other notes, different notes, <em> different blood</em>. <b>There</b>. He could smell something in the husk of a house about 100 yards in the distance.</p><p>One more whimper, but this time he heard a word therein: <em> help</em>.</p><p>“I hear you and I’m comin’!” Inuyasha howled, and he picked up speed. He didn’t care if he hit a fucking live wire and zapped himself. He didn’t care if he stepped the wrong way on an uprooted branch and fell on his face. Every instinct inside of him was screaming at him to get to that little whimper as fast as he could. So fast that he didn’t think of the non-existent bitch of a photographer who was chasing just behind him.</p><p>When he got to the skeleton frame that housed that whimper, Inuyasha scented and listened. Blood. So much blood. And <em> death </em> . Had he made it in time? He <em> swore </em> he heard the whimpers, and whoever carried the scent of death could not have asked for help.</p><p><em> Focus, you fucking prick</em>, Inuyasha’s mind snarled at him. He’d trained for this, because tornado chasers sometimes <em> were </em> the first on the scene after a disaster. <em> Close your eyes and smell and listen. </em></p><p>“Help… please…” the voice. A girl. A <em> child</em>. He could smell her too, a waft of bubblegum on the breeze, laced with the bitterness of adrenaline. There were two people in the house, one dead and one alive. And… <em> more</em>.</p><p>A groan.<br/>
Not of a person, no. Of overstrained wood. It was the creak of something starting to buckle. Something that…<em>something that was about to give. </em></p><p>Inuyasha didn’t have time to think. He crashed into the house. As he looked wildly around, he could see the groan’s source. The collapsed roof sitting precariously on the naked frame of an internal wall.</p><p>“Someone’s here to find ya, kiddo! All I need ya to do is say help one more time and I can get ya,” Inuyasha instructed. He knew the girl had to be inside somewhere, and he was terrified that sneezing the wrong way would bring the roof down.</p><p>“Help!” It was a squeak, accompanied by a gurgle. But Inuyasha located it immediately.</p><p>The middle of the collapsing house, in the bathroom. With an echo that made Inuyasha believe that the smart child was in the bathtub.</p><p>He plunged forward, throwing debris away as fast as he could. He punched through drywall and ripped apart the pipes that guarded the entry to the bathroom, finally creating a hole in the rubble. The creaking and groaning of the wood was becoming more insistent as he worked, but finally—<em>finally</em>—he gazed upon the wide brown eyes peeking over the porcelain of the bathtub; a slab of the collapsed ceiling was halfway in the basin with the girl, pinning her in.</p><p>“I’m Inuyasha,” Inuyasha said, stepping gingerly into the bathroom. “I’m gonna get you outta here, princess. Just… hold tight.”</p><p>He didn’t have much time. Not as the groan of the wood got deeper and louder. So he grabbed the slab of ceiling and he heaved it off of her, throwing it up and into the open sky (but <em> away </em> from the buckling joists).</p><p>Her body fit entirely into the bathtub, and she had little colorful baubles in her hair. She was heaving and flinching with every breath, probably because even as she was mostly protected, the ceiling had still made contact with her.</p><p>He wanted to wait for the medics to get to them, to tell him whether it was okay to lift her out of that tub and get her to safety, but he didn’t have time.</p><p>“We gotta hurry, but if it hurts too much when I lift ya, you tell me, okay?” Inuyasha leaned down and wiggled his ears for the girl. She gave him a little nod. “Okay… 1… 2… 3… up!”</p><p>Inuyasha scooped her into his arms, and although she did flinch (broken ribs, Inuyasha suspected), she didn’t say a word. Inuyasha walked over the rubble carefully, and out the front. He was too afraid to stop walking, not until he had the little girl safe. He could check on the thing that smelled like death once the medics were here and had her.</p><p>But before he had a chance, a loud snap came from the girl’s house, followed by the tremors of debris hitting the ground. The joist had buckled, and the roof had collapsed.</p><p>Even if the person who smelled like death was still alive, they sure as fuck weren’t anymore.</p><p>“What’s your name, kiddo?” Inuyasha cradled the girl in his arms, walking as fast as he possibly dared, back toward where he’d last seen the medics.</p><p>
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</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>“R—Rin,” the girl answered, opening her eyes and looking at Inuyasha once more time. She let her head fall on his shoulder, and she trembled.</p><p>“Inuyasha!” It was Kagome, running up to him with two medics in tow.</p><p>“H—house collapsed.” Inuyasha looked right past Kagome (he couldn’t so much as say a word to her right now), speaking directly to the medics. “Rin’s her name. She’s hurt. Uh… someone else was in the house but—but…” <em> fuck </em> he didn’t want to say it, but he had to. “I… they… didn’t smell… <em> alive</em>.”</p><p>A silver-haired and bearded medic, a monkey demon, nodded gravely at Inuyasha’s declaration, “Rin? My name is Sarugami. I got ya from here.”</p><p>“I—is Miss Hitomiko…” Rin whimpered, causing Inuyasha to lean into her voice, “is she gonna be okay?”</p><p>“We are going to do everything we can for her,” Sarugami interrupted, cutting Inuyasha off, and bringing relief to the little girl’s face. It was a hopeless lie to ease Rin’s suffering, and they both knew it. </p><p>Inuyasha gently placed the trembling little girl onto the ground, and backed away, letting Sarugami take over.</p><p>
  <em> Click click click </em>
</p><p>Fucking Kagome was back behind her camera.<br/>
<br/>
Inuyasha wished that he could be as far away from Kagome Higurashi as was physically possible. He wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it. And he wanted to run to his Jeep and chase after that fucking tornado and curse it back into the sky.</p><p>But that wasn’t what he would do. He would help. Until his fingers bled and his limbs burned. He would run into buildings and he would save people and he would act like the fucking dog he was and sniff out blood and death.</p><p>Off in the distance, he heard the staccato punches of an approaching helicopter.<br/>
To get Mushin or to get Rin to the hospital? He didn’t know.<br/>
He could simply hope that both of them, and everyone else who had watched their lives get destroyed by that fucking tornado, would be saved. And… and the people who could not, would not… suffer.</p><p>For the rest of the day, Inuyasha threw slabs of wood off of buildings, and cleared trees off of streets. He followed his nose from house to house, room to room, giving all clears or flagging people or <em> bodies</em>. The tornado’s fury appeared to have lessened on the second half of its massacre. Houses were more intact and people mostly needed treatment for minor cuts and bruises.</p><p>And the whole fucking time, <em> click click click</em>.</p><p>When Totosai called to tell Inuyasha to stand down, that those with injuries were all on their way to hospitals and everyone else (alive or dead) had been accounted for, it was time to go home.</p><p>Inuyasha climbed into his Jeep, and turned it on. He heard the sound of the passenger door open and close, followed by the clicking of the seatbelt, but he forced his eyes to stare straight ahead. He squeezed the steering wheel as tightly as he dared, shoving the scent of lilacs and fresh rain out of his mind, letting it be replaced by blood and adrenaline and fear. And he snarled as he shut out the way her exhausted sigh sounded musical, forcing his mind back to <em> click click click</em>.</p><p>“You were a superhero today,” Kagome offered, her stormy gray eyes roiling with emotions from what they both had just witnessed.</p><p>Inuyasha didn’t bother to answer her. There was nothing left to say. She was going to go back to Chicago with her perfect shots of people dying, and he was going to go back to Norman and drink himself into a stupor, more broken than even when Kikyo left him, remembering nothing but <em> click click click</em>.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Two Faces of Superheroes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kagome thinks back on the fateful day in Truth or Consequences.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Click, click, click.</em>
</p><p>Kagome was scrolling through the photos she’d taken in Truth or Consequences. The devastation was palpable: downed power cables, uprooted trees, destroyed homes, some with only one wall standing, some with only interior walls standing—and some completely flattened to the ground. Cars that were <em>caved in</em>; their windows shattered, their roofs concave, telephone poles creating perfectly symmetrical divots in hoods.</p><p>How many pictures had she taken that day? Hundreds? Thousands? Kagome wasn’t sure. Frame after frame of horror scrolled by, and with each photo, Kagome felt the pit in her stomach growing deeper, and darker, and more sickening.</p><p><em>Click, click, click</em>.</p><p>Kagome’s breath caught. There it was: the photo of Inuyasha, carrying the little girl. <em>Rin</em>. Her name had been Rin. Her face pinched with pain; Inuyasha’s face tender, and weary. It made Kagome’s heart ache, and tears pricked her eyes as she thought about the trauma that little girl faced that day. Inuyasha had rescued her from her home, right before it collapsed. Her parents had been at work; her babysitter, Miss Hitomiko, had not survived.</p><p>Kagome didn’t even know if they’d been able to recover her body.</p><p><em>Her body</em>…</p><p>Kagome brushed the tears away from her face, sniffed, and stared back at the screen. She took a deep breath and pushed her emotions aside, refusing to acknowledge the sick feeling radiating through her body. She needed to look at these photos with an objective eye, free of hysterics and emotions. Kagome Higurashi was a lot of things, but she was <em>not</em> hysterical.</p><p>She was a photographer with an excellent memory. She could see events in her head as though they were scenes from a movie. Like the events of that day.</p><p>Inuyasha had told the medic Rin’s name, laid her on the ground, then rushed off to look for other survivors, Rin and Kagome both watching after him. It was like he was on a frantic rescue mission: single-minded, tunnel visioned… noble, <em>heroic</em>.</p><p>Kagome was no hero; all she could do was take photos, so that was what she did.</p><p>Once Inuyasha had run off, the little girl started to get frantic, crying for her mom. Kagome had rushed forward, dropped beside her, and stayed for a few moments. </p><p>“I’m Kagome,” she had whispered to the terror-filled face, “and I love your barrettes!”</p><p>Kagome talked gently with Rin and the medic (Sarugami had been his name), convincing her that the stretcher they were putting her on was so she could ride the cool helicopter. It was enough to calm the crying girl down, and get her safely on the way to the hospital.</p><p>As Rin was wheeled away, Kagome had managed to get in touch with Rin’s mother (thank god the girl had known her mother’s cell number), telling her what had happened. The range of emotions the woman had exhibited, even over the phone—the terror, the fear, the pain, and then… the utter relief—had washed over Kagome, a series of waves that did not stop.</p><p>Now, in the present moment, Kagome allowed herself to shudder as she looked at the photos of Inuyasha, of Rin, and of Sarugami—Dr. Midoriko had said that she needed to give herself space to feel and plenty of time for self-care—but only a moment, because Kagome didn’t need to <em>feel</em>. </p><p>She needed to work. </p><p>
  <em>Click, click, click.</em>
</p><p>A series of photos of a crushed car, of Inuyasha tearing the driver’s side door off its hinges, of the man inside: Mr. Mushin. Kagome remembered him. She remembered calling for the medics to come and help after Inuyasha had dashed away once again, intent on saving the <em>next</em> life.</p><p>The images rushed through her mind, fast and furious, the grimness of the scene filling her heart with the same horror she’d felt back then. Her breath was starting to come short, and swift, and then, before she could stop it, she started gasping for air.</p><p><em>A panic attack</em>.<br/>
Frantically, as Kagome scrambled to breathe, as the terror and panic shot through her body, threatening to overtake it completely, she remembered Dr. Midoriko’s words.</p><p>
  <em>Close your eyes. Think about what you ate for lunch. For breakfast. Slow breaths. Keep thinking about your meals.<br/>
</em>
  <em>Lunch: Avocado toast. Breakfast: yogurt with granola. Dinner the night before: roast chicken and potatoes. Lunch: Vegetable soup. Breakfast: Doughnuts (oops).</em>
</p><p>She reached further and further back in her mind, until she felt her breath become even, until her body started to relax, until the tightness in her chest went away.</p><p>The panic attacks had started two days after they returned home. Dr. Midoriko said that they were normal after experiencing such a traumatic event, but Kagome wondered. Shippo wasn’t having them. </p><p>Was Inuyasha having them?</p><p>Turning back to her photos, to the ones of Inuyasha and Mr. Mushin, Kagome wished that she could be Inuyasha in that moment. She wished that she had the strength to tear doors off of cars and pull people from the destruction. She was strong, and in decent shape, but she was no Inuyasha.</p><p><em>No one</em> was Inuyasha.</p><p>Dr. Midoriko had reassured Kagome, more than once: she had done the things she knew to do, the things that she <em>could</em> do, in that moment, and over the course of the entire day. Kagome had snapped photos. To help the Hakurei Institute get funding. And she had sent a text message. To Kagura. To help Truth or Consequences immediately.</p><p>
  <em>In Truth or Consequences, KS. F5 hit. Lots of damage. Can Jidai get a medical helicopter? Give Hakurei a media blast too. News crews, everything. Whatever you can get here, please?</em>
</p><p>It had only taken a few seconds for Kagura to text back, but when she did, Kagome had let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>
  <em>On it. Hang tight.</em>
</p><p>The medics had gently removed Mr. Mushin from the mangled car by that point. Kagome rushed to his side as they lifted him onto the stretcher. He grasped her hand and she tried not to look at his legs, which to her untrained medical eyes appeared to be crushed.</p><p>“I’m Kagome,” she’d said. “I’m here. Just let me know what you need.”</p><p>She remembered the medic pushing her away, telling her that she was in the way, that he needed to be treated <em>immediately</em>. Kagome tried to protest—tried to tell the medic that she wanted to help, that she would call the man’s family—but eventually she backed down, and away, and had gone back to the one thing that she <em>could </em>do: taking pictures.</p><p><em>Click, click, click</em>.</p><p>More photos of devastation. Bodies of dead livestock strewn about. Dazed or dead family pets mixed in with furniture, with photo albums, with sinks and beds and pieces of lives that would never be repaired. </p><p>The pit in her stomach grew, but Kagome refused to let herself cry.</p><p>No matter what Dr. Midoriko said; no matter what Kagura or Shippo or her mother or anyone else said.</p><p>Crying was for the weak. And Kagome? Kagome was fucking <em>strong</em>.</p><p><em>Click, click, click</em>.</p><p>Her breath caught at the 635th photo in her feed.<br/>
There it was.<br/>
Kagome had found it.<br/>
The perfect shot. </p><p>The sunlight reflected against the swirling ropes of cloud and the rain wall. She could see the ombre of colors weaving from left to right: majestic, and tall, and mighty. </p><p>So… so powerful.<br/>
Composed inside of the frame of the photo such that it nearly looked like it was reaching out to her. Nearly alive enough she could hear its roar. Nearly violent enough that it screamed danger, all encapsulated in a perfect photograph.</p><p>A perfect photograph of a tornado that, not even fifteen minutes later, rampaged through a small town and laid waste to it.</p><p>A perfect photograph that spoke of people losing their homes, losing their lives, losing <em>everything</em> because of it. </p><p><em>Everything</em>.</p><p>The <em>click, click, click</em> of Kagome’s finger on the mouse was accented by the <em>plip, plip, plop</em> of her tears against the keyboard. </p><p>When had she started crying?</p><p>She rubbed her eyes and continued on. She was not done with the photos yet. She had more she needed to go through. She’d promised a good selection to send to Kagura by the end of the day. </p><p>But what <em>was</em> a “good selection” anyway? When the collection of photos she’d amassed was human life? When the price of that collection was <em>Inuyasha</em>?</p><p><em>Fuck</em>.<br/>
Inuyasha hadn’t spoken to her once since before they first got out of the Jeep in Truth or Consequences. He’d gone into “hero mode,” as she called it: Saving lives. Clearing debris. Helping the injured. She hadn’t been able to stop watching him; even through the lens of her camera, Inuyasha was still all that she could see.</p><p>But something happened in Truth or Consequences. Something beyond the cost of human life. Something beyond the trauma. Something that cut through even the awkwardness of their wonderful night together. It was an anger so palpable and deep that Kagome had not even tried to assuage it. Yet, she couldn’t grasp what had done it: had he been angry with her, with nature? The world? All of the above? She couldn’t say. She could only say that now… in the aftermath of it all… the only person in the world she wanted to talk to, to see, to <em>process with</em>, was him.</p><p>She missed his sarcasm; she missed the flash in his golden eyes when he was annoyed with her. She missed the way that he hovered. She missed his stupid rock music.</p><p>She missed the warmth of his hands on her body. The way his eyes were always sincere, whether they were excited to see her, furious, or <em>terrified</em>.</p><p>How was he doing? What was he doing?<br/>
Had he gone home that night and gotten drunk? (She and Shippo had.)<br/>
Had he watched bad television? (She and Shippo <em>definitely</em> had.)</p><p>Had he gone on with his evening, like nothing had ever happened, even though his heart and his mind and his soul could never be the same? (Like <em>hers</em>.)</p><p>More than once, she nearly picked up her phone and called him. But the moment before she hit the <strong>Call</strong> button, Kagome had always aborted.</p><p>She wasn’t ready.<br/>
Even as Dr. Midoriko had told her that it would give her closure.</p><p>But Kagome didn’t want closure.</p><p>And then, there <em>it </em>was. It wasn’t her best work, by any means; it was out of focus, taken in a moment of panic: the photo of Inuyasha from the day he’d rushed to pull her away from the tornado that would have killed her. It was the essence of the man: the two faces of a superhero. The heroic act juxtaposed with the horror of the situation.</p><p>It was something she saw time and time again in the photos she’d taken of Inuyasha, on that dreadful day. She remembered it so clearly in the photo of him, ripping the door of Mr. Mushin’s car, his muscles bulging, his entire body tense with the exertion from his efforts. Yet on Inuyasha’s face, abject terror. His concern, for Mr. Mushin, that he might die. His steeled acceptance that after today, he would never be the same.</p><p>But it was not concern reserved for tragedy, because there, staring back at her in that blurred photo, there it was. Heroic and terrified. The two faces of the superhero.</p><p>“I get it now, Inuyasha,” she murmured, clicking on the photo and enlarging it, taking in how frightened his eyes were, how his mouth rounded as it screamed her name.</p><p>Now she had seen the actual human cost to the thrills she’d chased. Thrills she got high on. Thrills that helped her… disconnect with everything else. </p><p>Inuyasha had seen it. He’d seen through her: somehow, down to her soul. To those little broken parts that others did not get to see. The parts that ran towards thrills without acknowledging that it was also running <em>away</em>. Thrills that were so glibly pursued, without paying attention to the costs associated with them. (Like Miss Hitomiko.)</p><p>Suddenly, Kagome understood what she needed to do. The thing that might <em>actually</em> bring her the closer Dr. Midoriko was so insistent that she find. She turned to her right and opened her top desk drawer. She removed some scrap paper, and a pen, and she began to write.</p><p>
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</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com">mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>She poured out her heart, her soul, her feelings.<br/>
Because she needed to lay it all out, to make it all clear to herself. <br/>
How she felt: about what she’d seen, about what she’d experienced…<br/>
About Inuyasha.<br/>
<em>Everything.</em></p><p>The more she wrote, the more that Inuyasha appeared before her, real, and majestic and glorious. She saw his golden eyes, glowing fondly at her; she felt the tenderness of his claws as they ran through her hair; she heard him call her “Duchess”. </p><p>When Kagome was done, she stared at what she had written. Words she couldn’t quite remember writing, but words that needed to escape her torn-up soul. At the last scribbled phrase, she dropped her head to her arms and sobbed, Inuyasha’s name a whisper on her lips.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>Click.<br/>
</em>
  <em>Click.<br/>
</em>
  <em>Click.</em>
</p><p>Kagome and Shippo looked at each other, nervous, as Kagura scrolled through Kagome’s portfolio. Over one thousand photos taken across five days, whittled down to fifty. Which Kagome, Shippo, and Kagura would whittle down even further to ten or fifteen. For a story about chasing tornadoes through the American heartland, that had evolved into so much more.</p><p>Kagome’s hands twisted and untwisted nervously in her lap: fifty photos that they felt best represented their time with Totosai, and… with Inuyasha.</p><p>Kagome had not included any photos of Inuyasha in the portfolio, even as Shippo had queried as to why. But… she didn’t want to share Inuyasha with the world. That experience—<em>his</em> experience—his thoughts, his feelings… all of it—they were his alone, too private to share with anyone else. Every photo of him reminded her of their time together; there was some intimacy to them, to the way that he looked at <em>her</em> in them, that was for no one else. Kagome wanted to… hide those photos away, somewhere, some place deep in her hard drive where she never had to look at them again. At the same time, she never wanted to stop looking at them. They were all she had left.</p><p>At long last, Kagura pushed back from her desk and looked from Kagome, to Shippo, and back, taking a deep, shuddering sigh.</p><p>“Have you both been going to your sessions with Dr. Midoriko?” Kagura asked. Kagome chanced another glance at Shippo, who was nodding, and Kagome did the same. Kagura sighed again. “That’s good.”</p><p>“What do you think about the photos, Kagura?” Kagome asked, shaking away Kagura’s concern; she didn’t need it.</p><p>Kagura stared hard at Kagome and Shippo. “They’re phenomenal,” she said. “Every last one. I don’t know how we’ll narrow this down, because each of them…” Kagura’s breath caught. “Each of them is really beautiful,” she said at last. “And sad. And stunning. And tragic. And heartwarming. There are stories here, Kagome. Each photo tells the story of someone’s life as it was before, and as it would be after, the tornado.”</p><p>“Do you think the photos will help raise money for Hakurei Institute?” Kagome asked. </p><p>“Absolutely,” Kagura nodded. “I’m even thinking that we can release some early, like in a photo series, online, ahead of Shippo’s story, with information about how to support the little weather center that could. Shippo could write a short caption for each one.”</p><p>“Absolutely,” Shippo confirmed, his face set.</p><p>“You’re <em>sure</em> you’re both okay to take this on?” Kagura asked. When Kagome and Shippo both nodded, she nodded back.</p><p>“Fine,” she said at last. “Finish this story, and then, I’m requiring you both to take a break. Go to Aruba or something; take in some sun. Don’t think about tornadoes or death or anything else but your tan lines. For...at least two weeks.”</p><p>“Two weeks!” exclaimed Kagome.</p><p>“But Kagura!” exclaimed Shippo.</p><p>“That’s my final word,” Kagura said firmly. “You both need a break. You’ve been working like crazy for months now, and I don’t like it. I don’t like that you nearly killed yourselves for your work. So...break, and then, we do a follow up with the people who were affected by the tornado.”</p><p>“What?” Kagome asked. “You want us to do...what?” Shippo reached out and grabbed her hand, his face pale as well.</p><p>“A follow-up,” Kagura said. “Go back to Truth or Consequences. Shippo will write the story, and Kagome, you will take some more pictures.”</p><p>Kagome was always ready to take more pictures. It was she did for a <em>living</em>, for Christ’s sake. And she had to admit that she was curious to know what life was like post-tornado for people who’d lost so much. For people like Rin and her mother, for Mr. Mushin, for everyone else. Yet, she found herself hesitating.</p><p>The thing that bothered her about this—more than she was willing to admit, even to herself—was that she didn’t want to go back to Truth or Consequences.</p><p>Not without Inuyasha.</p><p>She needed him there, with her. She needed his strong hand to squeeze hers when she got nervous. She needed him to softly explain how to tell where in the wall cloud a tornado was going to drop. She needed his chuckle and his growl. She needed the terrified superhero who would save her when she inevitably did something stupid. She… she needed <em>him</em>.</p><p>Kagome’s eyes grew wide as the realization washed over her. </p><p>“Kagome?” Kagura asked, and Kagome blinked herself back into the conversation, Inuyasha still pricking at the corners of her mind. “You okay with this?”</p><p>“What?” Kagome replied. “Yeah. Of course I am.”</p><p>“Good,” Kagura said, getting to her feet, “because I need my top writer and my top photographer at the pinnacle of health, and I expect you to take this break, and then come back ready to work. Understand?” They both nodded, and Kagura walked over to the door and opened it. “That’s an order. I need the article on my desk in a week. Figure out which photos are for the online gallery and which ones will go with the story. And then? Aruba.” She held out her hand and indicated they should get up, which they did. “We’ll be in touch.”</p><p>Kagome and Shippo left Kagura’s office, Kagura patting each of them on the back as they went, and they walked glumly down the hall. When they got to the corner, Shippo held out his arm and touched Kagome’s shoulder. She paused.</p><p>“Kagome?” he said. “Can—can I ask you something?”</p><p>“Sure, Shippo,” answered Kagome wearily (why was she suddenly so damn tired?).</p><p>“When we were putting together the portfolio, why didn’t you want to include photos of Inuyasha?”</p><p>Kagome was surprised. “Should I have?” she asked</p><p>“You had some incredible ones,” Shippo pointed out, “of him in general, and then, there was that one of himself and the little girl—“</p><p>“Rin,” Kagome said, thinking about how she had talked to Rin’s mother just the day before, and how she had told Kagome that Rin was doing fine and would be released from the hospital soon.</p><p>“That one with Rin,” Shippo continued. “You got that incredible look on his face. The fear, the concern, the tenderness, the exhaustion… and his <em>saving her life</em> to boot,” Shippo shivered suddenly and blanched, before pulling himself back together. Kagome knew that he was just as upset by the memories of Truth or Consequences as she was. “All those photos with Inuyasha,” he continued, his voice steadying. “Why keep them secret?”</p><p>Kagome stayed silent for a long moment. She didn’t want to tell Shippo what was really going in the storm that was currently her heart.</p><p>“I—I didn’t feel comfortable sharing them,” she said at last. “They felt… they felt intimate to me, like they are something for him, and only him. Like they’re not ours to share with the world, Shippo.”</p><p>“What will you do with them, then?” Shippo asked softly as they started to walk towards the elevator doors.</p><p>“I—I have no idea,” Kagome admitted, since most of her ideas involved squirreling them away where no one would ever find them.</p><p>“Seriously?” Shippo scoffed at her. “You’re Kagome Higurashi, one of the best photojournalists in the world, and those are some of the best photos you’ve ever taken. The Kagome I know would be itching to share those with the world. So, what changed?”</p><p>
  <em>The Kagome I know. </em>
</p><p>“I… don’t know, Shippo,” Kagome swallowed down the tears that threatened to break over her at Shippo’s entirely accurate statement.</p><p>The old Kagome Higurashi? She would have sent those photos over to Kagura, even before she’d finished putting the portfolio together. She would have cared only about the perfect shot, about the accolades, the awards…</p><p>About the Pulitzer.<br/>
Because the Pulitzer would finally prove everyone wrong. That Kagome was not just a great photojournalist, she was <em>the best</em>.</p><p>But that Kagome Higurashi had died in Truth or Consequences. She had left behind the old version of herself, and she had emerged from Truth or Consequences a new Kagome. One who had seen death, and devastation. The new Kagome Higurashi was not interested in exploiting other people’s pain just so she could prove that she was the best. The new Kagome Higurashi was interested in showing the toll and the devastation things like tornadoes could have on humanity. She wanted to save lives, not exploit them.</p><p>Kagome wanted…<br/>
She wanted to be more like Inuyasha.</p><p>The elevator doors pinged and Shippo and Kagome got on. They rode down in silence, each occupied by their own thoughts. When they got to the bottom and the doors opened, they both got out and looked at each other.</p><p>“I think I know why you don’t want to share those photos,” Shippo said to her. “Because… Truth or Consequences changed you. Lord knows it changed me too.”</p><p>“Thanks,” she whispered, pulling Shippo in for a hug.</p><p>“Well,” he said, pushing away and straightening his sweater. “We still on for bad TV at 7? I’ll bring lots of beer.”</p><p>“Sounds good,” Kagome smiled, and she watched as he waved and headed out the doors. She made to follow him, but then stopped. </p><p>She thought about Shippo’s words.<br/>
About her own feelings.<br/>
About Pulitzers and glory.<br/>
And Truth or Consequences.<br/>
About all of it.</p><p>About Inuyasha.</p><p>Kagome swiveled her backpack around to the front and opened it. She rifled around inside until she found what she was looking for: her freeform words on those scattered pieces of paper, on which she had written down her thoughts about everything that had happened.</p><p>As she reread her words, it dawned on her:</p><p>This wasn’t just a journal entry, meant to sort through her thoughts.</p><p>This was a letter.<br/>
A letter to <em>Inuyasha</em>.<br/>
A letter that—that she <em>had to mail</em>.<br/>
To him.<br/>
So she could tell him everything.</p><p>Kagome raced over to the receptionist desk, where a bored-looking young man with long black hair and bored indigo eyes stared aimlessly toward the exit. He blinked and glanced up at her. </p><p>“What’s up?” he asked tiredly.</p><p>“An envelope,” she said. “I need an envelope. And a stamp.”</p><p>“Why?” he asked, but he was doing as she directed. He found an envelope in a drawer, and tore a stamp from a roll on his desk. He handed them both to her.</p><p>“Thanks,” she said.</p><p>Kagome settled herself on the bench in the lobby, took a pen out of her bag, and reread the scraps of paper, quickly putting them in proper order. She added a “Dear Inuyasha” to the top. As she read through, it was so clear: this always was a letter to him, a letter she now knew, that was <em>for him</em>. Then, she grabbed one more thing, something she had not told Shippo were hiding in her bag, for her to look at when she needed to feel reassured: the photos of Inuyasha, photos that she had sworn that she would never show to anyone else, photos that she had wanted to keep close to her.</p><p>Photos that he needed to see.</p><p>She took out her phone, looked up his contact information, and swiftly wrote out his address and hers on the front of the envelope, adding a “Please Do Not Bend” along the side. She then affixed the stamp. Finally, she laid the photos on top of the letter, folded it up, and slipped it into the envelope, which she then sealed.</p><p>On her way out of the building, Kagome stopped at the mailbox slot, and dropped the letter she hadn’t realized she’d written, along with her precious photographs, in. On their way to Inuyasha Taisho.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Letter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Inuyasha grapples with his own demons after Truth or Consequences. A conversation with Totosai leads to a realization, and Inuyasha finally decides to open a very important envelope.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone! We hope that wherever you are, you're safe and doing well.</p><p>Welcome to the next chapter of Chasing the Vortex! We have a content warning for this chapter, as it includes a portrayal of mental health reactions to trauma.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>To: Inuyasha Taisho.</b>
</p><p>He knew who it was fucking from and he wanted <em> nothing to do with it</em>. She’d shown <em> so clearly </em> what she was after that not ever seeing her, not ever speaking to her, and not ever smelling her, was the only way he would ever survive.</p><p>Was it so she could gloat about her fucking Pulitzer for exploiting those people’s suffering? Was it to show off the perfect shot of the tornado he’d muled her to like the fucking dog he was? Or maybe it was a picture or two of <em> him </em>. Putting his anguish on fucking display for everyone to see: the half-demon who chases tornadoes and saves lives.</p><p>
  <em> And saves lives. </em>
</p><p>But he didn’t save them all.<br/>
Because it was too late for some of them.</p><p>Fucking Totosai was not letting the “go see a trauma counselor” bullshit go. Like a fucking flea demon who’d never seen an ounce of traumatic stuff in his life could tell Inuyasha <em> how to feel</em>. At least the old Ox though had stopped insisting that he talk to a fucking <em> tree </em>.</p><p>Because Inuyasha was only feeling one way.<br/>
Broken.</p><p>He felt broken when he woke up in the morning, pissed off that the light spilled through his curtains and left him unable to fall back into the oblivion of sleep. He felt broken when he looked over at his laptop and had no <em> fucking desire </em> to check the weather models for the next big system. He felt broken when he talked to the old Ox about this or that with his thesis, and he felt <em> fucking broken </em> every time something <em> clicked </em> like the shutter of a goddamned camera.</p><p><em> Click click click. </em> Some punkass kid put a playing card in the spoke of his bicycle wheel (but Inuyasha still had to keep his temper from causing him to turn that bike into modern art).</p><p><em> Click click click</em>. A fuckfaced salary man sat on the bus typing away on his phone.</p><p><em> Click click click</em>. The sound of that bitch secretary in the department <em> who did not fucking know that high heels were for places fancier than Meteorology at U. Oklahoma. </em></p><p>They were everywhere. And they were nowhere.<br/>
Because they were all Kagome.<br/>
And Kagome was gone.</p><p>Good-fucking-riddance. She’d exploited him in ways that he could not even describe. She’d followed his trauma and ripped open his heart solely so she could make her story more compelling. Her Pulitzer more…</p><p>When Inuyasha’s phone pinged, he checked himself, waiting for his blood to settle and his mind to calm. She hadn’t called, hadn’t texted, hadn’t…</p><p>Only a letter.<br/>
Which he’d had for two days.</p><p>He couldn’t throw it away, so he found himself sitting and staring at it. But never opening it. When the name stared back at him at night, when the flashes of blood and gore and whimpers and <em> clicks </em> nearly broke through and became the reality of his little apartment, he stared at the letter.</p><p>He didn’t need sleep anyway.</p><p><em> Call me. Right now.<br/>
</em>The message was from Totosai. One he knew better than to ignore, even as he wanted to do nothing more than crawl into the deepest, darkest hole he could find, and isolate there until he stopped feeling things.</p><p>Until Mushin’s hushed voice that was leeched of its life, that said his name, became memory.<br/>
Until the trembling little girl asking about Miss Hitomiko faded away.<br/>
Until his nostrils forgot the scent of fresh death.</p><p>When his phone started ringing, Inuyasha groaned. He didn’t want to answer, but he had to. And it wasn’t like Totosai had not seen him in this state before.</p><p>“What?” Inuyasha tried not to growl—he failed.</p><p>“Did you call Myoga or Bokuseno yet?” Totosai didn’t beat around the bush.</p><p>“No,” Inuyasha replied. He didn’t want to fucking talk to a tree or a flea, and he told Totosai that a thousand fucking times.</p><p>“Inuyasha…” The defeat in Totosai’s voice stopped Inuyasha’s growls. “You weren’t here when we came on Joplin, so this was the first time you—you saw what tornadoes can do. When I say talk to someone, <em> I’m saying it from experience</em>. Because—”</p><p>“I don’t <em> fucking need my head shrunk</em>,” Inuyasha snapped before he could help himself, before he even knew what he was doing.</p><p>Fuck Totosai for suggesting that! Inuyasha would be <em> fine </em>. He was fine after his divorce, right? He got over it by chasing tornadoes and he would get over this by—</p><p>He didn’t know…</p><p>Because now when he thought about tornadoes he also thought about the scent of death, about the quiet defeat on faces as first responders declared that someone had not made it, about… <em> click click click</em>.</p><p>“Then have you talked to Kagome about it?”</p><p>That question hung in the air. Because for some reason, unlike the damn tree and flea, though the answer was also no, something stopped him from shutting out that notion and believing all the surface things he’d been building in his mind since everything went down.</p><p>Since the wonderful night in bed with her.<br/>
And the tornadoes that lit up her eyes.<br/>
But then… the tragedy she fucking <em> exploited</em>.<br/>
And… the letter.</p><p>“N—no,” Inuyasha gulped, but there was so much fucking more that he needed to say. “I <em> bet </em> she really fucking <em> loved </em> all those pictures she took and all the fucking <em> awards </em> she is going to be getting from exploiting all that—“</p><p>“What?” Totosai’s incredulity halted Inuyasha’s rant. “You think Kagome has been <em> exploiting us</em>?” There was a sigh. It was the same sigh that he heard every time he insisted that he was entirely fine after Kikyo had left him. “Inuyasha, this is <em> why </em> I want you talking to Myoga or Bokuseno. You were in reactive mode during our Truth or Consequences time. You saved lives and did so much good. But… has anyone ever asked you if it gave you post-traumatic stress disorder?”</p><p>“I don’t need <em> fucking </em> <b> <em>help</em></b>!” Inuyasha’s voice had become impossibly loud, and he’d become impossibly angry. <em> Fuck Kagome. Fuck Totosai. </em> And fuck Jidai and Shippo and fucking life and the tornado that <em> didn’t fucking care that it killed people</em>.</p><p>“You don’t sound like yourself right now.” Totosai’s voice changed again: tender, <em> caring</em>. “Inuyasha… listen. When we go into places with so much destruction and tragedy, we can get… tunnel-visioned. I—I saw you that day. And… wow. You were something out of a superhero movie. But…” Totosai paused, likely considering his words, “I think you missed everything around you. Which, given that you saved what, four or five people? Is totally understandable.”</p><p>“Like what? Other bodies? More people?” Inuyasha had tried <em> so fucking hard </em> to save everyone; did he miss someone? Was he too late?</p><p>“No! No. Nothing like that.” Totosai’s strained voice made it clear that he was continuing to choose his words carefully. “More… the actions of <em> others</em>.”</p><p>There was a pregnant pause in the conversation. Inuyasha tried to think of a retort, tried to find his way back to his rant, but his head was too busy swirling with the memories of that day… he couldn’t. Luckily, Totosai had only paused a moment.</p><p>“Shippo told me that Kagome was with you, and that she’d called in the cavalry. We were trying to figure out how to get people to the hospital and <em> boom</em>, there was a rescue helicopter,” Totosai started. “Shippo was calling around, too. Resources, news crews, cameras. He pulled out his phone to record a plea from me for both help to get people on their feet in Truth or Consequences, and for the Hakurei Institute.” Totosai’s voice had lightened. “Apparently, Kagome was extremely pushy, didn’t give her editor much choice. So… well-funded help came to Truth or Consequences and… apparently I became an internet celebrity.”</p><p>“What?” Inuyasha blurted out the word before he could help himself. Kagome had just been <em> clicking the fucking shutter</em>. She didn’t care about <em> people </em> or helping… She just… chased the story.</p><p>Except.<br/>
<em> Except. </em></p><p>A flash of Kagome’s voice calling out to medics came to him.<br/>
The sound of a helicopter.<br/>
A little girl crying and a hushed feminine voice.<br/>
The feminine voice. On the wind. But also on the phone.<br/>
What the <em> fuck </em> had he missed?</p><p>“Yeah… this is why I want you to <em> see someone</em>, Inuyasha,” Totosai pleaded, “because when we’re in the middle of big traumatic things, we don’t have the space to see everything going on around us. And… you… it’s clear that your head’s not back on straight after it.”</p><p>“Kagome called in the helicopter?” Inuyasha was trying so fucking hard to see it, to <em> remember</em>.</p><p>“And the news crews and even some of the extra boots on the ground,” Totosai answered. “I don’t think you saw Shippo after all that. I don’t think you saw either of them, really; they were as broken as we were.”</p><p>Kagome had called the helicopter.<br/>
Kagome had comforted Rin.<br/>
Kagome had cried for the rescuers to come and help take Mushin out of the crumpled car.</p><p>“Are… are Rin and Mushin okay?” Another set of words that blurted out of Inuyasha before he could stop them.</p><p>“My understanding is Rin’s parents are finally back from travel, and Mushin is in the hospital, still recovering,” Totosai answered. “Shippo has been keeping me up-to-date.”</p><p>“Why?” Something was changing in Inuyasha’s brain as he spoke, as if fog was clearing.</p><p>“Shippo and I talk. All the time. Damn fox can’t keep his trap shut,” Totosai chuckled. “He’s still helping me with publicizing the Hakurei Institute. I guess… Truth or Consequences made the article and the story <em> personal </em> for him, and now he’s doing everything he can to help it be successful. And, well…” the chuckle was gone, replaced with another sigh, “trauma has a way of doing that to you. The strongest bonds I have are often with people that were there at Joplin, or Tuscaloosa, or… well, or Truth or Consequences.”</p><p>Kagome had been there with him. Kagome had been broken too. Kagome and Shippo were now on a personal mission to help Hakurei and save lives.</p><p>So there would be more time for people to get safe.<br/>
So Inuyasha would see less death the next time a F5 hit a town.</p><p>“I—I...” The flashes were back, but now they had stormy gray eyes and shimmering obsidian hair and…</p><p>And fear. In the eyes.<br/>
Fear of what they were witnessing.<br/>
Fear that drove them to hide behind a shutter when they couldn’t think of anything else they could do.</p><p>“Talk to Myoga or Bokuseno,” Totosai said, “and read the article. Because it is amazing.” Totosai then inhaled and exhaled again. “And talk to Kagome. Because from what Shippo has told me, they’re now a two-man tornado-fundraising machine.”</p><p><b>To: Inuyasha Taisho.<br/>
</b>It stared up at him from his desk. A white envelope with clean handwriting of his name.</p><p>“I have to go,” Inuyasha said, hoping he didn’t have to tell his advisor anything more.</p><p>“I’ll be checking in on you, dog,” Totosai answered, confirming that he understood Inuyasha without any more words. “Do what you gotta do.”</p><p>Inuyasha hung up his phone. He <em> did </em> know what he had to do.</p><p>Inuyasha used his claw to gently tear the top of the envelope open and he watched as photographs spilled out of it. Images of him, <em> all </em> of him: holding Rin; his eyes lit with fire as he ripped a car door away to lean in and help Mushin; his face, confused and strained, as he searched the horizon for the next person he needed to save.</p><p>And there was a letter.</p><p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/648034064967794688/inuyasha-dont-cry-heres-the-art-to-go-with">  </a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Dear Inuyasha,</p>
  <p>For the last week I have tried to think about how to express my feelings: about me, about my life, about my time in Norman, about my time...with you. I don’t know if you know (or care), but I have been seeing a therapist to deal with the nightmares, the PTSD, the panic attacks—all things that I have been suffering ever since that first night after Truth or Consequences. The first night I was alone. The first night where I realized...I needed you.</p>
  <p>I’m not someone who relies on others. Growing up, it was just me, my mom, my little brother, and for a while, my grandpa. My mom gave me lots of support, but I never told her everything that I had to do—the dangerous, the risky assignments; the assignments no one else would take because people could <em> die </em> doing them—in order to get ahead. Everything I had to do in order to be the best.</p>
  <p>Somewhere along the way, I discovered that I had an itch. For the thrill. For the danger. For the excitement. And as a photographer, I desired to put my skills to use in order to scratch that itch. I wanted to be the best: to show that I was the best photographer in the business—best at what I do. I’m a woman in a man’s world, and I have had to fight (and sometimes play a little dirty) to get the assignments, to show off my skills, to demonstrate that I <em> am </em> the best. I take my work seriously, and people know it, and respect me for it. As a result, I have seen some of the most exciting and terrifying places in the U.S. I’ve climbed Denali. I’ve gone swimming with sharks off the coast of California. </p>
  <p>When I got the assignment to go to Norman, OK, to cover tornado chasers, I thought it would be the chance I’d been waiting for. To finally, really, demonstrate what I could do. I could practically taste the Pulitzer, and it was <em> so </em>close.</p>
  <p>Close, that is, until I met you.</p>
  <p>I’ve been all over the country—I’ve traveled a fair amount around the world—and suffice it to say that I’ve never met anyone like you. Inuyasha Taisho, the superstar of the OU meteorology department. Premiere tornado chaser. Terrible photographer. I looked at you, and I saw country bumpkin, and I thought I could handle you.</p>
  <p>If anything, <em> you </em> handled <em> me</em>.</p>
  <p>You took one look at me, and you knew who I was. You saw right through me—right through to my soul. You know I was in it for the thrill of the chase, for the itch that needed scratching, for the awards, for the prizes. To prove I was the best.</p>
  <p>You knew all of this, and you also knew that I had forgotten how to stop, and really <em> look </em> at everything in front of me. And you showed me what I saw when I finally stopped looking through the lens of my camera, and started looking with my own eyes.</p>
  <p>I saw the glory of the storm: beautiful, majestic, terrifying. I experienced the magnificence, but also, I experienced the devastation. And when I saw both sides, for the first time, the chase ceased to hold joy for me. </p>
  <p>Instead, the chase made me want to <em> do </em> something, made me want to put my skills to better use. Because while you rushed forward and helped, all I could do was stand back and take pictures.</p>
  <p>And I hated it. I hated not knowing how to do anything other than take pictures, shout for medics, and hold the hands of the injured. I hated that I had to rely on my contacts for help, instead of being the one to help directly, <em> immediately. </em> </p>
  <p>I haven’t figured out exactly what that will be yet, but I know that I want to use my skills to capture the lives of everyday Americans, to show what they are going through, and to show what people can do to help. </p>
  <p>I saw all of this, yes, but that wasn’t all.<br/>
Because more than anything else, Inuyasha, I saw <em> you</em>.</p>
  <p>You: beautiful, and brilliant. You: sarcastic, yet tender. <br/>
<em> You</em>: The man who forced me to face my fears. Not about the dangers of nature, but about the dangers of my own heart. </p>
  <p>For far too long, I’ve run away from my feelings. For far too long, I’ve hidden from the truth that my heart and my soul speak to me. </p>
  <p>Until now. <br/>
Now, I’ve decided to listen.<br/>
And now, my heart and my soul are telling me that I need you.</p>
  <p>I am sorry that it took a tragedy for me to realize it.<br/>
I am sorry that it took a tragedy for me to admit that I have feelings for you.<br/>
But god help me, I do. </p>
  <p>I’ve enclosed some of the pictures I took of you during our time together. Pictures that I have decided to keep close to my heart, and never to share without another person (except Shippō, who sees everything I do, but he won’t talk). These pictures are part of how I will remember you: strong, brave, gentle. Heroic. <em> And at the same time, so beautifully human. </em></p>
  <p>I think you know how else I will remember you. And I hope that it doesn’t have to just be a memory. </p>
  <p>Because...I have feelings for you, Inuyasha Taisho.<br/>
I just hope...it’s not too late for me to admit it.</p>
  <p>I’ll be waiting to hear from you. Wherever you’re willing to talk to me, I’m here.<br/>
And I am ready to listen.</p>
  <p>With all my heart,<br/>
Kagome</p>
</blockquote><p>Inuyasha, who didn’t ever cry, wiped the tears from his eyes. Kagome had said everything that he needed to hear, everything that his soul desperately cried to hear. And he <em> saw </em> what he needed to see, in her pictures, through her lens, <em> and just for him</em>. Pure and unexploited.</p><p>He would call the fucking flea. Because he… he wanted to get better.</p><p>But first…<br/>
Inuyasha grabbed the keys to his Jeep. He typed the return address into his phone and hit <b>Go</b>, Because before he did anything else, he needed to get to Kagome.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. No Longer Afraid</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kagome sent that letter to Inuyasha a week ago. Surely he had gotten it? But... she had heard nothing. And then came a knock on the door...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One week.<br/>
One long, fucking terrible, week.</p><p>Inuyasha <em>had</em> to have the letter. He had to. Because it would have taken about three days to get to Norman; maybe four, if the mail was slow. Even if he didn’t check his mail every day, it would have arrived at least three days before. When he got it, surely he would have read it, wouldn’t he have?</p><p>Surely he would have responded by now.</p><p>Every minute—every <em>second</em>—that ticked by without an answer from Inuyasha, was another minute—another <em>second</em>—where self-doubt eroded her heart.</p><p>Had she been wrong? Did he really hate her that much? Was the silent treatment she’d gotten all the way from Truth or Consequences back to Norman been his way of telling her unambiguously that she should stay away, that she should never talk to him again?</p><p>Well, she couldn’t <em>do</em> that. Not when she had feelings for him: feelings that not even she was fully ready to process just yet. Not when telling him everything that was in her heart was the only way to make the void in her soul feel less empty.</p><p>The first few days after she mailed it were easy. She knew that it was on its way; she knew that it would take some time. So she poured herself into her work. She and Shippo finished the article in time for it to make that week’s issue, and according to Kagura, the article was a “home run.” Kagura was already calling it “Pulitzer-worthy,” but all those phrases, things that Kagome had once chased so insistently, felt empty. </p><p>In the face of death, everything she’d once valued seemed flippant. Her job held little joy; instead of thinking about her next project, her next <em>adventure</em>, all she could think about was fundraising for Truth or Consequences. She spent every idle moment writing emails, and making phone calls, even putting pressure on Kagura to throw her weight around with some of the other powerhouses in publishing. They all had money, after all; they should be willing to put that money towards a good cause!</p><p>Every night, she and Shippo were spending hours together; they talked on the phone, they spent time at each other’s apartments, planning their next steps for Truth or Consequences and Hakurei. Shippo had helped Totosai go viral; his YouTube videos on the elements of a tornado and tornado safety were racking up views, and had been a great way to shed further spotlight on both Truth or Consequences <em>and</em> Hakurei. When Kagome had suggested including donation and website information for both, Kagome discovered that Hakurei didn’t yet have a donations page or...even a <em>Web site</em>… The thing was literally a web page that looked like it was coded in 1992 directly in HTML, with the gaudiest colors she’d ever seen. They needed help, help Kagome could provide, but she was trying to stay behind the scenes, because she didn’t know what <em>Inuyasha</em> might say.</p><p>Shippo had been off that day doing an interview with one of the local affiliates; he’d wanted her to come along, but she didn’t feel like it. After all, he’d written the story; he was the one everyone wanted to talk to, which was honestly just fine with Kagome. If she went on the air and answered questions, it might mean that she would have to talk about <em>him</em>.</p><p>If only he would respond. If only she <em>knew</em>, one way or the other. She wanted—no, she <em>needed</em>—to be able to move on, and if that meant a rejection, she would be devastated, yes, but at least it would be closure. Right now, Kagome was hanging in space, waiting for Inuyasha to answer her. </p><p>She’d put off the break that Kagura insisted she and Shippo take because she didn’t want to miss Inuyasha’s text or phone call. But as the days ticked by, she realized that she couldn’t wait around for him. And maybe that was the answer, in not responding, Inuyasha had responded, <em>loud and clear</em>.</p><p>And Kagome was trying to listen, trying to accept. In fact, just that morning, she had called Kagura, and told her that she would take that break and go off the grid for a while. When Kagura asked Kagome where she wanted to go, Kagome had a simple answer:</p><p>Bonaire. The Leeward Antilles. Absolutely as far away as she could get from Chicago and still be in the Caribbean. </p><p>Her suitcase was on even her bed; she was currently searching through her dresser drawers for swimsuits, because if she was thinking about beaches and swimsuits and trashy romance novels, she could pretend for a moment that half-demons who had captured her soul didn’t exist. That was all she wanted. If she couldn’t be with him, if she had to be alone, all she wanted was the comfort of a beach, a book, and a big floppy hat.</p><p>Kagome’s fingers hit something hard, and closed around a small, square box. The one she had packed and unpacked and packed again a thousand times. There was nothing distinctive about it, but this box held Kagome’s most treasured, and lately, most hated, possessions. There, staring up at her, was the picture. The one that she had taken of Inuyasha on the day he’d rescued her from the tornado. There were other pictures underneath it, yes, but this was the one that she always came back to. The one that she loved the most.</p><p>Before Kagome knew what was happening, there were tears dripping down off her nose, onto the photograph. She sniffled, and rubbed at her eyes. </p><p>She missed him. <br/>
<em>So, so much.</em></p><p><em>Why</em> hadn’t he called, or at least, even texted? <em>Why</em> was he ignoring her? She’d poured out her heart, laid it all on the line, and she was getting…</p><p>Kagome was getting nothing. <br/>
She needed to pick herself up off the floor. Pack her bag. Go to Bonaire. Read trashy novels. And…</p><p>...spend seven days on a beach, dreaming of the only thing she wanted.</p><p>Because more than anything, Kagome wanted to rest and recover, to find herself, her <em>purpose</em> again… with Inuyasha.</p><p><em>Inuyasha</em>. She rubbed at her eyes, which would not stop tearing.<br/>
<em>Inuyasha</em>. She picked herself up off the floor, got a tissue, and blew her nose.<br/>
<em>Inuyasha</em>. She imagined his arms around her, holding her, comforting her.<br/>
<em>Inuyasha</em>.</p><p>
  <strong>Knock Knock Knock</strong>
</p><p>She looked at her phone: not quite 8:00. Had she and Shippo made plans? She was definitely not expecting anyone else.</p><p>“Coming!” she called. She stopped at the bathroom on her way to the door to splash some cold water on her face, an attempt to cover up the tears she’d just shed, avoiding the mirror. She knew she looked like shit, but if it was just Shippo, she didn’t really care.</p><p>The knocks on her door were getting louder, more persistent.</p><p>“I said I was coming!” she shouted, then stalked to her door; Shippo was <em>never</em> this insistent.</p><p>She checked the peephole. The sight on the other side caused her breath to stop. She clutched at her chest, trying to keep her heart intact.</p><p>
  <em>It...it was...</em>
</p><p>Kagome took a long, deep breath to quell the trembling that the sight had evoked. She turned the locks, and slowly, steadily, she opened the door.</p><p>The man who stood in her doorway had his head bowed; his long silver hair flowed around his shoulders; his silver dog ears hung listlessly. When he heard the door creak, he picked up his head: his eyes were haunted, but at the sight of her, sparked with a passion that made Kagome’s heart leap. </p><p>They stood there, for a long, tense moment, unbelieving that the sight of the other was real. Kagome’s heart was beating so hard that she thought it might pound its way right out of her chest. Was she still breathing? Was she still <em>seeing</em>? Because <em>he was here.</em></p><p><em>Inuyasha had come</em>.</p><p>He spoke first; simple, quiet, soft. </p><p>“Kagome…”</p><p>A single word, laden with more meaning that any words Kagome had ever heard, before, or after.<br/>
She smiled softly at him, suddenly no longer caring about Bonaire or her puffy eyes or the tears or the secret photos. Because <em>he was there</em>. </p><p>“Inuyasha…”</p><p>He jangled his keys in his hands, seeming hesitant about whether or not he should come in; Kagome smiled at his trepidation and pushed the door open a little bit more, open, welcoming. He looked at the threshold, then at her, then took several steps forward, so that they were facing each other. Kagome’s breath caught as Inuyasha gazed down at her, his golden eyes deep and vibrant and <em>burning</em>. She watched him; she watched his left hand, and it slowly rose and wrapped itself around the back of her neck, tangling itself in her hair. She watched his eyes, soft and tender, as his right hand circled her waist, as he dipped her head back. Then, finally, she closed her eyes and gave into him completely when he pressed his lips to hers. </p><p>
<a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/648661565030236160/they-so-deserve-this-my-poor-babies-go-read-the">

</a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">mickisketch</a></p>
<hr/><p>His lips were warm, soft, tentative. But as he kissed her (and she kissed back), he gained confidence and enthusiasm. The electricity that pulsed through her body made her quiver, and her arms went around his neck, drawing him closer and deepening the kiss. She felt his occupied lips smile, and her heart soared: with joy, with relief, with <em>love</em>.</p><p>Because Inuyasha had <em>come</em>. And he was <em>kissing her</em>, the way she had not known she needed to be kissed until that moment. </p><p>What happened next, Kagome wasn’t entirely sure. She heard his keys hit the ground, and suddenly, his hands were under her ass, and she was in his arms as he kicked the door closed. She squeezed her thighs into his sides, and pressed into his chest, because she <em>needed to be as close to him as possible</em>, and she was nowhere near close enough.</p><p>When Inuyasha opened his mouth and welcomed her tongue eagerly, she found his fangs and caressed them. He moaned, and his hands roamed her ass, his fingers finding their way under the hem of her shorts and tucking into her panties. She gasped, then nodded at his questioning gaze, answering the unasked question: <em>yes, please yes</em>. His claws tickled her delicate flesh; reminding Kagome that there were too many pieces of clothing right now, keeping them apart. </p><p>She <em>needed him</em>: here, now. Probably more than once. <br/>
She needed to <em>show him</em>. How much she loved him.<br/>
How much she wanted to be with him.</p><p>Her fingers found his ears, and she gave them a soft, gentle caress, pinching her fingers together as she drew them up and over the soft, furry tips. He groaned, breaking the kiss, and stumbled backwards, hitting the wall; she smiled and hopped out of his arms, his hands slipping out of her underwear and shorts. Inuyasha scoffed playfully at her, expressing his dissatisfaction; Kagome could see the desire heating his eyes and his face; the same desire that was heating hers.</p><p>Wordlessly, she reached down and slipped her hand in his. When Inuyasha looked at her questioningly, she smiled at him, and tugged his hand so they both started moving down the hallway to her room. He paused, but a turn, and a nod of her head had him immediately following after her, her implication now clear. She felt him grip her hand more tightly, and when she turned, he pulled her to him again, pressing her up against the wall and kissing her: deeply, passionately, his tongue demanding reentry to her mouth, which she eagerly gave him, his hands roaming over her tank top.</p><p>His hands were strong, soft, gentle, powerful. His hands had ripped doors off of cars; they had rescued small children. The vicious claws she was so used to seeing were trimmed, deliberately, maybe for her.</p><p>And now, his hands were exploring her again, like they were home.</p><p>It was almost with regret that Kagome broke the kiss and took his hands from her breasts into her own. Slowly, she stepped backwards, planting a kiss on his lips every step, drawing him with her, down the hall, towards her bedroom. Each time she kissed him, she moved away, and she glowed when she felt him trying to follow her, trying to keep his lips on hers, because that was how Kagome <em>knew</em>. </p><p>He had come to her, because he was just as excited to be here with her, to <em>do this with her</em>, as she was to be here with him.</p><p>The first time they had been together, Kagome had wanted nothing more than to ravish another hot man on another adventure, on her way to the next big thrill. But now, as they slowly moved down the hall, the superficiality of the first time boiled away, leaving only the longing, <em>only Inuyasha</em>.</p><p>A few more gentle kisses, a few more gentle tugs, and Kagome and Inuyasha were in the middle of her bedroom. His lips hovered over hers, his tongue gently tracing her mouth, and Kagome moaned softly before she stepped away from him, just far enough that she could look into his eyes, their hands still joined, now resting between them.</p><p>Inuyasha’s were golden pyres, blazing brightly in the dim light of her bedroom, burning only for her. Kagome’s eyes held his gaze; when she dropped his hands, and he dropped his eyes to follow, she tilted her head and made him look back at her. </p><p>She wanted to keep those eyes on her forever. To keep that look: of adoration, of wonder…</p><p><em>Of love</em>.</p><p>It was a look she would never forget; it was a look she never wanted to let go. </p><p>When she tucked her fingers under the hem of his t-shirt, and gently lifted, she saw his eyes widen, then settle back and darken. His hands toyed with the bottom of her tank top, and when his ears wiggled with anticipation, she giggled softly and tugged on his shirt. He dropped her tank top and raised his arms, allowing her to lift his shirt up, up, up, until it was off of him. She tossed it aside, then turned back to him.</p><p>He was just as glorious as she remembered. He closed his eyes as her fingers trailed down his sculpted chest. His skin was a beautiful dusty gold that seemed to radiate light of its own. She traced his sternum down, then her hands parted to follow the lines of his pecs, under his perfect, pert little nipples. Kagome couldn’t help it; her thumbs reached up to brush against them, and Inuyasha sucked in his breath, then shivered. </p><p>Inuyasha opened his eyes, and Kagome saw the slight smile playing on his lips, one fang poking out below his lower lip. As she splayed her hands across the muscular expanse of his chest, his hands dropped back to the hem of her tank top. This time, with more confidence, he held her gaze as he lifted upwards, Kagome reluctantly removing her hands from his glorious torso and allowing him to tug her shirt over her head. He paused, and pressed it to his nose, inhaling softly, closing his eyes, and Kagome knew he was taking in her scent—something that she hadn’t realized he had missed. He tossed her tank top aside, then, as her hands returned to his chest, his hands hovering just above her satiny, plum-colored bra. Their eyes met; Kagome held her breath. She wanted, more than anything, to feel his hands on her again, to feel him close to her, to <em>feel</em> his love for her. </p><p>Because this time, she recognized his actions for what they were. Acts of caring; acts of tenderness. And now, she wanted to give him all the love she had for <em>him</em> too. She wanted him to know: this, here, now, was the happiest she’d ever been: her hands on Inuyasha’s magnificent chest, their bodies so close together, the anticipation of what was to come, crackling between them filled her with inexplicable joy. </p><p>Without another thought, Kagome dropped her hands to the waistband of his pants as he covered her breasts. Inuyasha’s thumbs ghosted her nipples through her bra, and Kagome moaned softly at the sensations his motions sent rippling through her. Her fingers worked his belt buckle open, and with one hard pull, she yanked his belt through all the loops; she hurled it aside, not caring if it left a dent in her wall as she heard it hit with a thud. His arms went around her; her fingers worked the button of his jeans open, then tugged down the zipper. He deftly unsnapped her bra, and she stepped back momentarily to allow him to remove it. He threw it in the same direction as his belt, then turned back to her, his golden eyes aflame as he took her in. Kagome shivered as she watched him, gazing at her; the gentleness of the fire in his look shook her. She was used to men gazing at her with lust, eyes darkened, bodies hissing to take her. But the gentle joy that sparked in Inuyasha’s eyes? </p><p>It set her entire body on edge in ways that it had never been before, as if her body’s response was soul-deep for the first time. </p><p>His hands went to her breasts, cupping them reverently, again his thumbs teasing her nipples out to hardened peaks in a way that made soft pleasure radiate through her. Kagome reached back to his jeans, now open, and yanked, hard. They slipped off his hips easily, down his legs, and he stepped out of them gracefully and kicked them aside. Her hands circled his hips and tucked into the waistband of his black boxer briefs, her palms and the pads of her fingers pressed into his sculpted ass.</p><p>His eyes were warm, gentle, tender, joyful. She offered him a kiss, which he accepted, their lips moving against each other slowly, sensually, tasting all that the other had to give. She felt him lean into the kiss, and she opened her mouth slightly, offering him the invitation that he was all too happy to accept. His hands slipped down her waist, his thumbs resting on the inside of her panties. Their bodies molded together, and Kagome could feel his erection pressing into her belly. It fueled her need to feel him, as close as one could be to another: moving, kissing, tasting, feeling.</p><p>She had said she wanted all the things with Inuyasha. <br/>
And here, holding him, feeling him, <em>anticipating</em>, she knew she had spoken true, spoken from her soul.</p><p>The heat of his body warmed her up; the feel of his hands, spanning the width of her hips, made her shiver, even as he held her steady. And when her tongue met his, he quivered a little, but her own hands, set firmly on his ass, held him steady.</p><p>Inuyasha was her rock; the one man who had looked at her, seen through her many facades, and now, had come to her because she let herself stop trying to hide from him. And she knew, now, that she was his rock, too: the woman who had challenged him, seen him, then accepted him, <em>all</em> of him, no questions asked. And now, the culmination of that soul-searching, that challenge, that clarity, laid out with a man she cherished, as he cherished her.</p><p>Kagome broke the kiss and stepped back, her eyes raised to meet his; stormy gray met lightning gold. Words passed between them without sound. </p><p>She went first, tugging his boxer briefs down, over his hips, past his knees, to the floor. She helped him lift his right leg, then his left, then she shoved them away, across the floor. Kagome kissed one knee, then the other, then drew her lips up his thigh, to his best, and most delicious, treasure, which was swollen and twitching with need for her. Kagome paused, wrapped her hand around the circumference, and gave him one long, solid lick, from base to tip; Inuyasha <em>moaned</em>, loudly, and pulled her up to standing to capture her lips in a crushing kiss. </p><p>His tongue has found its way back into her mouth and was now plundering it; his hands were back inside her panties, his right-hand fingers finding the soft folds of her sex and working their way in, hunting for the hidden button that was already throbbing with need of him. Her knees buckled when he found his purchase, but his left hand on her ass, massaging her cheeks, kept her steady when she trembled under his touch. <em>He</em> circled her clit with his thumb, even as he slowly slipped her panties over her hips, over his own hand, and down. Kagome watched him, nearly breathless, her body taut as his gentle touches made her nearly fall over. He dropped to his knees and let her hold onto him as he finished removing her underwear. He dragged his tongue up her calf, over her knee, and up the skin of her inner thigh. He removed his fingers from the crest of her sex, replacing them with his lips. His golden eyes twinkled up at her, his ears wiggled with glee as he pressed a tender kiss there, and she moaned softly in response. </p><p>In a flash, he was on his feet, and she was in his arms, the kisses he’d laid so recently between her legs now back on her lips. Her arms snaked around his neck and up into his hair, where her fingers twisted around the strands and she gently yanked. Gods, she wanted him to take her to bed. She wanted him to lay her down and kiss every inch of her body. She wanted to kiss every inch of <em>his</em> body. She wanted…</p><p>There was a crash, and Kagome tore her mouth away from his long enough to look around. She saw that he had...<em>kicked</em>… her suitcase—the suitcase for Bonaire that was formerly on her bed—to the floor, its contents spilling across the hardwood. She turned back to him, a bit aghast at his enthusiasm; his eyes were sheepish, his ears drooping. Quick kisses to his nose, his cheeks, his jawline, his lips, had him grinning and his ears perking; her arms looped about his neck still, one of his hands firmly under her ass. Inuyasha dropped his other arm onto the mattress and used it to hold them steady as he softly laid her down, his lips back to hers, her legs tangling up in his, her nails now lightly scratching down his back. </p><p>Kagome was trying to remember. How he had felt last time. He must have felt so strong, steady, safe. Was that what had scared her? That she could feel the permanence of what they were doing, even then, but she hadn’t been ready to admit that she wanted it—fuck, <em>had she</em> even wanted it then? </p><p>Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe she’d just wanted a fuck buddy for a few days. Maybe she’d just wanted someone to have a good time with, who she could look back on fondly as another box to tick (“sex with hot-as-fuck half-demon meterologist” had seemed like a good box at the time). And when he’d pushed, she’d wanted to run, or so she thought. </p><p>But now, her hands palming his back, his fangs teasing the soft flesh of her neck, their soft grunts, groans, and sighs the only sound in the room, Kagome could feel the shreds of their relationship slowly knitting themselves together. His lips had found the soft swell of her breasts; he was currently working his way from right to left, granting her kisses, nips, and, when he reached the dusky peaks of her nipples, a generous suckle that caused her to grip sheets and cry out. She felt his hands cup her breasts and push them together; Inuyasha nestled her face between them, and Kagome heard him take in a long, deep inhale, then felt the flat of his tongue lapping at her cleavage. Her hands twisted in his hair; her body was lighting up from the inside out, the tension in her core rapidly spreading. </p><p>She wanted more; she wanted to feel his tongue, his fangs, raking over every part of her body. She twisted her hips as he caught a pert nipple in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it, and the rumbling pleasure in his chest rippled against her. Somehow, her hand found his, and he guided it slowly over her other breast, where his fingers worked with hers to gently, slowly, rub that nipple into a pebbled frenzy. She may have whined; she may have moaned; the feel of his hand on hers, on her breast—of them working <em>together</em> to make her feel good—Kagome could feel a desire pooling, that needed relief. Her legs pushed against the mattress, and she lifted her body into his, pressing into his cock. His responding chuckle made her growl, and she tugged his hand down her body, hoping he would understand what she wanted. </p><p>His golden eyes blinked up at her, full of the same desire that was currently coursing through her body. He winked at her—that tease!—and went right back to what he was doing, using her hand to caress her breast while he nuzzled the other with his nose and his lips, and teased it with his fangs. It was only when she let out a plaintive whine that he sighed, reluctantly released her nipple, and gave her a delicious grin before he offered it one last, vicious lick. She squeaked that time as her whole body shook from the force of his tongue. He laughed, let go of her hand, and immediately she found his soft ears with the tips of her fingers. She closed her eyes and arched her spine as he slid a hand under the small of her back, his fangs tracing the edges of her rib cage, down the gentle curves of her stomach, where he dipped his tongue into her navel, causing her to giggle, then gasp, then give his ears a little tweak, which made him shiver against her. </p><p>Each kiss across her belly fluttered further tendrils of pleasure through her; each gentle taunt of his fangs against her flesh made her flush with desire; she wanted to cry out to him, to tell him what to do, but she also wanted to allow him to find his way to her, to learn what she liked, what he could do to make her feel good. </p><p>She wanted to give herself over to him completely. Because she knew now that she was <em>his</em>, just as she hoped that he was hers. </p><p>A gentle push on her legs had Kagome looking down at Inuyasha in surprise, but his nose was already between her thighs. She could feel him inhaling her, and the thought made her weak against the mattress. Slowly, Kagome opened her legs, revealing all of herself to him.</p><p>A clawed finger slowly began to follow the soft lips of her sex, tracing the edges down to her opening, where he gently circled, running the pad of his finger over the slippery manifestation of her desire. Kagome moaned quietly, lifting her hips towards him. She wanted, more than anything, to feel him against her there—his tongue, lapping at her, the same way he had lapped at her breasts; his fingers, precisely probing her most intimate places.</p><p>She wanted him to know all of her, to explore her fully. She wanted him to learn what made her cry out, what made her moan softly, what made her swear profusely.  What made her cum hard. What made her want to grab him, kiss him passionately, and beg him to fuck her. </p><p>Two fingers spreading her glistening lips had Kagome gasping and looking down at Inuyasha in surprise. He was inspecting her closely, planting tender kisses along the way, until he found her clit. <em>That</em> got a wide swipe of his tongue again, one that made Kagome grunt, then sigh, then keen. He dragged his tongue back down over her delicate pearl, and Kagome <em>moaned</em> as she felt his fingers tracing her slit yet again. Then he latched onto her there, and swirled his tongue as one, then two, fingers slid inside of her. </p><p>Kagome cried out, her body already both welcoming and pushing back against him. He stroked her walls with his fingers, matching pressure with licks, swirls, and teases of his fangs to her clit. <em>Oh</em>, why had she not allowed him to do this to her the first time they were together (she knew the answer to that)? His fingers smoothly probed inside of her, seeking out the soft tissue that would respond to his touch, making her writhe on the bed as she felt the building tension begging for release starting in her walls. His tongue was a little more tentative, but when he pressed it into her sensitive flesh, dragging it upwards, the sharp intake of breath told him that she enjoyed that <em>a lot</em> (which she did). She felt his rumble of appreciation shoot through her body, and she giggled, then moaned <em>again</em>. When his fingers gently scissored inside her, she scrabbled against the bed, her fingers finding his ears as she arched her back and began to chase the coming release. </p><p>He was a scientist, through and through; she could feel him experimenting, trying out new methods of heightening her pleasure. And every moan, every twist of her hips, every soft cry that dropped from her lips told him what she liked, and where, and how much. When to shift from a lick to a swirl, and from a thrust to a gentle press against her walls. </p><p>Her head pressed back into her mattress; her fingers frantically worked at his ears; her hips lifted and thrust against his face and his fingers. Her body was reacting on instinct; the waves of pleasure hitting her, one after another, slowly at first, then increasing in speed and recurrence. Each one strung Kagome tight across two poles, keeping her taut between pleasure and relief. </p><p>Inuyasha was openly lapping at her now, eagerly, feeling her swollen pearl hard against his lips; he was making tiny growls of pleasure that caused Kagome to moan in response. Their language was base, and guttural, and wordless; and yet, with each movement they made, with each sound, they understood each other fully. </p><p>A few more rapid, deep thrusts of his fingers inside her, matched with his tongue curling around her clit, and Kagome crashed, letting the cresting waves fell her completely. Kagome came, hard, and fast, the soft tissue of her sex resisting his fingers and quivering around him. </p><p>Were...were those stars that she saw? Could she even see? Her breathing… it was so fast, and hard. Kagome clutched at her heart as she felt Inuyasha’s tongue gently taking her in, tasting her, and she cried out again, shaking as she immediately had a second, harder, orgasm. </p><p>Oh, god. What had he done to her?<br/>
She wanted him to do it again. And <em>again</em>. Forever.<br/>
But first....</p><p>She felt his fingers withdraw from her, and she moaned something that was maybe his name, but she couldn’t quite be sure. Kagome opened her eyes as Inuyasha sat up, pressed a soft kiss to her temple, and then got up. Her vision was blurry, but she thought he was going over to her desk? Why…?</p><p>Her camera bag.<br/>
He was going to her <em>camera bag</em>?</p><p>Kagome tried to laugh, but her body was still experiencing aftershocks from her orgasms, and the best she could do was wheeze, and cough a little, as another aftershock coursed through her body. He <em>definitely </em>chuckled at that, and she opened her mouth to offer a retort, when her vision started to return and she saw him rifling through her bag, his handsome face furrowed in concentration. It lit up, and he withdrew his hand, then turned to her, his bounty pinched between his thumb and forefinger. </p><p><em>He’d remembered</em>.</p><p>Inuyasha opened the condom, tossed the wrapper on the floor, flicked the latex to pop the tip, then placed it over his erection, which was <em>definitely</em> swollen with his own desire, to the point that she could see the veins throbbing. She watched him eagerly as he pushed the condom down, rolling it over the golden skin.</p><p>Inuyasha knelt at the edge of the bed, almost hesitant, unsure. Kagome’s heart was beating nearly out of her chest in the anticipation. She wanted <em>him</em>. All of him. There. With her. Now. Over her, kissing her, pressing inside of her. She moaned softly at the thought, and her body convulsed on its own as memories of riding him flooding her mind. To leave no doubt, Kagome waved her arms, welcoming Inuyasha back into the bed, <em>her</em> bed, to be with her again.</p><p>Slowly, softly, he kissed his way up her body: her toes, her ankles, her calves. Her knees (where he gave each one a little lick, and rumbled when she whined). Her thighs. The soft curls hiding her most delicate parts. He paused there, pressed the flat of his tongue between her lips and over her hidden pearl, and she cried out, her body no longer caring about propriety or being careful or quiet or concerned with how she might appear to him. His lips found her breasts again, kissing them reverently, before moving up her decolletage, her neck, her jawline. And when he finally kissed her, a kiss full of deep intensity that cut through her. She could feel, with every ounce of all that she was: her soul, calling to his, and from the way his gaze grew tender, heated, and dark, she knew that he could feel it, too.</p><p>She could feel him, pressing against her, her arousal coating the condom. Inuyasha broke the kiss; their foreheads rested together, and Kagome could see the question in his eyes. He was ready—<em>so</em> ready—but he was wondering if she was ready, too.</p><p>Kagome opened her legs for him, wrapped them around his waist, and gazed up into his fiery amber eyes, answering his question. Together, they slowly joined and became one, once again. </p><p>Her breath shuddered as her walls rippled around him, adjusting to his size and his girth. In all that had happened, she’d nearly forgotten how good <em>he</em> felt, how full <em>she</em> felt, and how complete <em>they</em> felt, together, like this. His eyes watching her. Her hands palming his back, her thumbs making small circles over the divots in his muscles, her hips pressed up into his. He shivered, and let out a long, low breath, and Kagome watched his eyes glisten with unshed tears that made her heart swell. Her hands went to his cheeks, and she tilted her face up to his in a gentle kiss, rocking her hips against him to let him know that he could finally move.</p><p>And move he <em>did</em>. She could tell that he was determined to take his time, to enjoy this moment. He was resting on his elbows on either side of her, his hands tangled in her hair, his lips on her throat, her jaw, her cheek, her nose—everywhere that he could reach. Kagome caressed his face with one hand, and slipped her other under his arm, down his spine, lifting her legs so she could rest her hand on the small of his back. Together, they moved, a perfect rhythm: slow, sensual, loving. She could feel him throbbing as he thrust smoothly into her, and her body shuddered when he pulled back, trying to hold onto him for as long as it could. </p><p>Had it ever felt like this? Had she ever <em>made love</em> to someone like this before? Or had it always been a good, hard lay: a balm on Kagome’s itch, but never a balm on her soul? </p><p>Foreheads resting against each other, their bodies perfectly molded, Kagome’s legs around Inuyasha’s waist, together they moved. With every thrust, every circle of his hips, Kagome followed his movements, followed his pleasure upwards, towards the sweet nirvana that they could only reach together. She lifted her legs higher; he set them on his shoulders, and she used her core muscles to raise herself up and meet him, kiss for kiss, his arm slipping around her back to hold her steady. Their eyes met, and she found that, even when he kissed her, even when her body began to hum and light up from the depths he was reaching inside her, she could not look away.</p><p>She could not close her eyes; she needed to see him, all of him; she needed to see that he relished in the joy of their reunion as much as she did. She needed to know that they were here, together, now, in this moment, and hopefully, forever. </p><p>And once they started, Kagome couldn’t stop her own tears from falling; this time, her tears were joyous, sweet, happy. He was the only one she wanted to be with; he was the only one she wanted to feel inside her; he was the only one that she loved. Because that was what this was: <em>love</em>. All consuming, pure, soul-healing <em>love</em>.</p><p>Kagome’s orgasm washed over her, a gentle wave instead of the torrents she had felt before. Inuyasha held her tightly as she moaned and wept and clutched at his back, continuing to fuck her slowly while her body shook from the slow and continuous release. He trembled as she milked him, her walls clinging to him, refusing to give him up, refusing to let him go until he came, too. </p><p>His thrusts became a little more forceful, pushing through her resistance, seeking his own sweet release. Kagome urged him on with soft kisses, drawing him close, slipping her tongue inside his mouth, caressing his fangs, his own tongue—whatever she could feel, and touch, and taste. He groaned and jerked into her, and Kagome felt him quake as his cock grew even harder than before. A sob, a hiss, and Inuyasha came, too, burying his face in her neck and driving up into her, unevenly, before letting out a shaky sigh and lowering Kagome back to the mattress. He lay on top of her, her arms around him, his cock still twitching inside her, and Kagome turned her head into his hair to inhale his deep, musky scent. It reminded her of the plains, and storm clouds, and rain walls. It reminded her of all the things about chasing that were exciting, and good, and light. </p><p><em>He</em> reminded her of all that had been exciting, and good, and light. <br/>
And maybe, <em>hopefully</em>… could be, again.</p><p>They lay there like that, for several moments; Kagome wrapped around Inuyasha, Inuyasha atop Kagome. Two bodies intertwined; two lives slowly bridging back together. Now that her body was coming back to earth, the sharp shakes and quakes of her orgasm were being replaced by a deep-seated joy, starting in her heart, and spreading throughout her body. Laying here with him, holding him, feeling him so close to her, feeling him inside her, it was… bliss.</p><p>A bliss in the afterglow unlike any she had experienced, the emotional climax to match the physical one. <br/>
She never wanted to let it go, let <em>him</em> go. Because she wanted to be with Inuyasha, for as long as he would let her. </p><p>A soft kiss on her neck, and Inuyasha withdrew from her and rolled onto his back. Kagome immediately snuggled into his side, and Inuyasha’s arm draped around her shoulders, pulling her close. She felt him turn, kiss her hair, then softly inhale, and sigh—with satisfaction, she thought. Like her. Calm. Sated. Elated. </p><p>And also…<br/>
Shoot.<br/>
She had to pee.</p><p>Kagome gave his stomach an affectionate rub and sat up. He immediately raised himself to his elbows, looking at her questioningly, concerned. Kagome’s heart dropped; she knew he was worried that she was going to leave, that she would be flippant, or ambivalent, when she was anything <em>but</em>.</p><p>She offered him a warm smile, a soft kiss, reassuring him that she would be back. He cocked an eyebrow at her, but nodded as she got up. She felt him watching as she left the bedroom; she was sure that his ears were following her every step. Kagome made her way to the bathroom, wobbling a little on her feet (she was still trembling from their lovemaking, and her body hadn’t fully recovered). She closed the bathroom door behind her, did her business, then turned on the sink and washed her hands. She paused briefly, and looked at herself in the mirror.</p><p>Hair mussed; lips swollen; face flushed; eyes starry. </p><p>She looked both nothing like herself and exactly how she’d always pictured herself to be. </p><p>Because with Inuyasha, she was finally, completely, wholly, <em>herself</em>.<br/>
A person whose scars were uncovered, a person who had not finished healing.<br/>
A person who… finally had someone she could share the important things with.</p><p>Kagome smiled at the girl in the mirror and left the bathroom. She returned to her room, where she saw Inuyasha sitting up in bed, the covers pulled up around his waist. His face lit up when she returned; she offered him a matching smile, and went over to her desk, where she grabbed her laptop. As she got back into bed beside Inuyasha, she set the laptop between them. He put his arm around her and held her close; Kagome let out a soft sigh as she felt his muscles flexing against her shoulders. </p><p>“You know,” she said, looking down at her laptop, “I… almost didn’t think you got my letter.”</p><p>Kagome heard Inuyasha’s breath hitch; he drew her even closer, and Kagome felt him turn, and kiss her hair, his lips lingering over the soft strands. </p><p>“Yeah,” he replied huskily, into her hair, “I got it.” Then, with another swift breath, he continued. “Took me a while to… <em>read</em> it.”</p><p>Kagome smiled and turned so her face pressed into his chest, one arm circling his torso. She felt her heart let go of a weight she didn’t realize it had been holding. Even though he was there, with her—even though he had come to her, she still had needed to know that he had read her letter. That he <em>knew</em> her heart. </p><p>Now, she knew. Inuyasha had read everything. He <em>knew</em> everything. <br/>
And now...it was time to show him.</p><p>“Inu—Inuyasha?” she asked tentatively. “Will—would you look at the pictures with me?” She swallowed down the bile that always seemed to come with naked vulnerability. “Of… of Truth or Consequences?”</p><p>She felt him briefly stiffen, then relax. “Yeah,” she heard him breathe, after a moment. “Yeah, I—I can do that.”</p><p>Kagome smiled, and sat back upright. She opened her laptop and snuggled a little closer to him. His nose stayed in her hair, but she felt him turn, almost imperceptibly, towards the screen. His arm slung low over her shoulder, tickling her nipples as he adjusted himself to cover her breasts. She opened up the photo album that, for two weeks, she had been afraid to open. Because of the nightmares. Because of the emptiness and the tragedy and the helplessness. Because of what… what she <em>thought</em> that she’d lost on that awful day. </p><p>But now, here, with him? The pictures weren’t scary anymore, because Inuyasha was there to look at them with her.</p><p>And she knew that when they looked at them, he would feel the same things that she did, and they could share in the memories—the joy, and the pain—together. That it was going to be okay, because now, she had Inuyasha.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Congratulations, Dr. Taisho</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's one year later--the day of Inuyasha's graduation--and both he and Kagome reflect on the past, the present...and the future.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the manga and/or anime.</p><p>Hello everyone! Welcome to the very last chapter of Chasing the Vortex!</p><p>This story has been such an incredible experience for us to work on, and posting this last chapter today is somewhat bittersweet. We hope that you've liked reading about Inuyasha and Kagome's adventures as much as we have liked creating them for you. Thank you for all your comments and feedback along the way--we have truly valued and appreciated them all.</p><p>And now, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Inuyasha Taisho.<br/>
<em> Doctor </em> Inuyasha Taisho.<br/>
<em> Dr. and Mrs. </em>Inuyasha Taisho?</p><p>The hints were subtle, and maybe wishful thinking, but that didn’t stop Kagome from dreaming. As she watched the Meteorology doctoral candidates get up from their seats, cross the stage to their advisors, receive their ceremonial diplomas, and be hooded, she couldn’t help but dream about the future and what it might hold.</p><p>It had been just over one year. One year since her first ride-along with Inuyasha; one year since Truth or Consequences; one year since she and Inuyasha had admitted and <em>consummated </em> their feelings for each other.</p><p>Kagome remembered how desperately alone she’d felt in that week between when she sent the letter and the moment when Inuyasha showed up at her apartment in Chicago: the soul-crushing uncertainty of standing naked on a precipice, and wondering, if she jumped, would anyone be there to catch her?</p><p>But he <em> had </em> caught her when she jumped. They had admitted their feelings <em> together</em>, had begun to heal from the deep cuts of trauma <em> together</em>. Kagome had canceled her trip to Bonaire, because Inuyasha would not be able to come with her. And Inuyasha was a far greater paradise than Bonaire could ever be. Inuyasha had stayed with Kagome for a week; they talked, she showed him the city, she showed him the best hot dog joints, she showed him her office, and they...spent a lot of time <em> healing</em>. On her bed. On the couch. In the shower. In the kitchen (that had been a bit messy…).</p><p>The sex was out of this world, because Inuyasha was gorgeous, talented, and single-mindedly focused on making her feel as good as possible: ever the scientist. But Kagome almost liked the <em> other </em> activities in her bed more. When he’d hold her and whisper in her ear, about the trauma, about his anger at the tornadoes that betrayed him by hurting people, even about his ex-wife. And Kagome had whispered too in the safety of the night, in the safety of his arms, while she rubbed his ears. About how afraid she was to close her eyes and see the faces of the dead. How tornado warnings now turned her stomach into the spin cycle of a poorly loaded washing machine. That her pattern of seeking thrills manifested when her dad walked out on them.</p><p>It had been a glorious week; one that had to come to an end. Inuyasha had to return to Norman; Kagome had to think about what was next for her. But the moment that he’d shut the door and headed for his Jeep, Kagome <em> knew</em>, with a clarity so crisp that she’d only ever seen it the moment after a storm passed: she was <em> meant </em> to be by Inuyasha’s side, and she was <em> meant </em> to follow him into the storms—not for the thrill of the chase, but for the thrill of the <em> good </em> that they both could do. She was out the door and back into his arms in a flash.</p><p>Things had moved quickly after that.</p><p>Kagome knew that she wasn’t going to be a photojournalist forever: not after what she’d seen in Truth or Consequences. She wanted to use her skills to help others, and while photography could certainly be <em> one way </em> that she could do that, Kagome knew that she could do more, <em> help </em> more. Challenging herself to get better would just be icing on the cake.</p><p>So she filled out an application, then called Kagura, then Totosai, and told them what she had done. Kagura had shaken her head and muttered about ‘always losing them when they peak’; Totosai had been gruff, but the cheer in his voice was palpable, even conveyed through the audio system of a cellphone. He’d even assured her that he could make her timeline work. “They won’t say no to you. Not with your resume. But if they do, I am prepared to be a diva.” (That was also the moment that Kagome knew her decisions were the right ones.)</p><p>With Totosai’s help and Kagura’s letter, Kagome enrolled in OU’s School of Visual Arts, for the Masters program in Film and Video, just in time for the fall semester, to study documentary filmmaking. That was where her dream lay—to be able to tell the stories of real people, everyday people: their trials, their challenges, and their victories. <em> The Aftermath of Truth or Consequences </em> would be her first project. The idea of making documentaries made her soul sing, as if she’d finally caught that intangible feeling she had always been chasing before. She <em> knew </em> that she’d want to produce a <em> lot </em> of work on tornado chasing, to spotlight the efforts of people like Totosai and Inuyasha, who chased to help and learn as much as they chased to experience.</p><p>Totosai had delivered on his promise to be a “diva,” and had made a few phone calls, making Kagome his graduate assistant (the <em> first </em> MFA assistant for the school of Meteorology). She would be doing PR for Hakurei, and her first order of business was to design a proper website for them, one that would showcase the amazing work of Hakurei’s researchers, features stories on the different towns they visited, and information on how to donate or volunteer. </p><p>The graduate assistantship meant tuition remission, and a small stipend, nothing compared to the bank she was making at <em> Jidai</em>, but worth absolutely every single penny of pay decrease.</p><p>The day she’d told Inuyasha that she’d be joining him at OU in the fall, he’d nearly driven to Chicago to celebrate with her. Even under threat of death by Totosai. Kagome had managed to keep him from getting into his car via <em> incentives </em> (sexy ones), but they were counting down the days until she moved. To Norman. To be a graduate student with him. To <em> be </em> with him.</p><p>Kagome had edited every useful or relevant photo for her stories at <em> Jidai </em> (except for photos of Inuyasha, even <em> after </em> he’d told her that she could include him). She’d subletted her apartment to Shippō (he adored her apartment) and needed only to find a place in Norman.</p><p>Inuyasha had immediately offered his place. But well… Inuyasha lived in exactly the type of place that one would expect a male science graduate student to live in. And… even as Kagome was elated to start a life with him as fast as humanly possible, she also wanted a bathtub. So Kagome struck a bargain with her boyfriend: that <em> they </em> find a place to live—a new place, that was for both of them.</p><p>They found a lovely, single-story home—three bedrooms and two bathrooms—with a nice big bathtub that even had jets. It was tight on two grad student salaries, but… Kagome <em> really </em> needed those jets, and Inuyasha would soon learn how <em> nice </em> having a full bathtub (and a girlfriend to enjoy it with) could be. So they made do. <em> Jidai </em> still offered Kagome freelance work, and so long as it didn’t interfere with her classes, or her assistantship, she took it. Her assignments were often still with Shippō, but sometimes, it was just Kagome, and the story. Inuyasha accompanying her was… secondary. He could write his thesis anywhere, right? Student plane tickets were cheap. And… well, those hotel beds needed to be tested for springiness after all (that it was a little celebration of their first time together was secondary).</p><p>And now, here, one year later, everything had come full circle. Everything had brought Inuyasha and Kagome to this moment: to the moment when Totosai would hood him, when Kagome would tease him and call him “Dr. Taisho,” and when she would press into his hands her very special graduation gift. </p><p>Her first documentary: her first big project as a student at the School of Visual Arts, titled: <em> Truth or Consequences: The Life-Saving Work of Tornado Chasers</em>.</p><p>The documentary was her greatest accomplishment. The culmination of the soul-searching and thrill-seeking. The story of what brought Inuyasha into her life. After Truth or Consequences, Kagome realized that she’d been traveling the country, traveling the world, searching for the one thing that would make her the best, that would show everyone just how far she’d come. But in the end, proof that she was the best was fleeting, prizes were empty, and after all, so were big posh apartments.</p><p>What she <em> should </em> have been chasing was <em> herself</em>, and her heart, and her soul. And when she paused in her life, and she did just that, the truth led her to Inuyasha. He taught her to look beyond the thrill at the beauty and the power of nature. He taught her to ask the <em> why </em> instead of just questing after the <em> what </em> . And he showed her how connections to people could be the greatest thrill of all. That <em> helping people </em> was the prize. The art that she wanted to make—the story that she wanted to tell—wasn’t a story to show that she was the best, or that she could <em> do it </em> (whatever that meant). No. The story she wanted to tell was the story of others, the stories of people who couldn’t tell their own. Telling their stories was the path Kagome was meant to travel.</p><p>Besides, she already had the accolades that showed that she was the best. There was now a Pulitzer Prize for Featured Photography with her name on it, for the work that she’d done on Truth or Consequences. And instead of seeing the prize as the pinnacle of achievement, she saw the faces of those she photographed; the lust that was once focused on the <em> prize </em> now focused on the stories she could tell for them.</p><p>She would get to share stories like Rin’s with the world, in hopes that the next F5 could be predicted such that countless lives could be saved. To Kagome, that was everything.</p><p>When the fall semester started, it had taken a little while to adjust. For Kagome, it had been <em> awhile </em> since she’d been in classes full-time, in addition to her work for the Institute, and the freelance gigs from Kagura. Kagome had only cried <em> once </em> , enveloped in Inuyasha’s arms. By the end of the fall semester, she was managing all of it and even enjoying herself. Inuyasha was always there, <em> always knew</em>, when she needed a hug or a warm bath or the amazing spaghetti carbonara that always seemed to be dinner after Kagome had had to meet with a certain professor who kept insisting that photography was not anything close to video production, and she would never make it as a documentarian (fuck Prof. Kaijinbo — even Totosai agreed that he was a putz). The spring semester, she’d been given the green light to work on her documentary (with a <em> different, non-fuckface professor</em>). When the Pulitzer announcement came, the School of Visual Arts suddenly started asking if they could feature her on all their literature. Kagome had declined, but said that they could feature her work for Hakurei instead. Which, sometimes, they did.</p><p>How amazing that all this had happened in one year’s time. Kagome Higurashi: the documentarian, with her boyfriend—<em> love of her life </em>—Inuyasha Taisho, superhero and tornado chaser. She’d won a Pulitzer and become a graduate student again. She’d built a website and swapped hiking boots and travel vaccines for an old Jeep and rock and roll. True, sometimes she pined for the adventure of being on a Greenpeace boat blocking an illegal whaling vessel, but taking action shots of the Doggo-lympics in Chicago with Inuyasha by her side would always win.</p><p>In part because she <em> wasn’t </em> missing the thrill. She was there for every tornado chase now, for her documentary, because she was Totosai’s grad assistant, and well, so she could be by Inuyasha’s side. The chase combined everything she desired: the thrill, the <em> purpose </em>, and the love. They were hard at first, with Inuyasha and Kagome solemnly placing the probes and snapping the photos. Slowly though, it became easier. They processed their pain, both together and with their therapists, and the flicker of thrill became a spark, then an inferno. Until now, at the end of the season, Inuyasha would hand Kagome a coffee and they’d snuggle up to look at his laptop to decide if there was something worth chasing.</p><p>Except today. Because today was about celebrating Inuyasha (as much as she knew that he wouldn’t want to be celebrated)—no, <em> Dr. Inuyasha Taisho</em>, newest Ph.D. of Oklahoma University’s school of meteorology. As she watched Inuyasha and Totosai cross the stage, meeting each other at the center, a rush of love swelled in her heart and spread to the rest of her body. Sitting there, watching him, watching <em> them</em>, the tornado doctors (she would need to remember that for the website!), Kagome knew that she was where she belonged: with him, by his side, cheering him on as he followed his dream.</p><p>Which had become her dream, too.</p>
<hr/><p>Dr. Inuyasha Taisho.</p><p>Was this really happening? Was he really becoming a doctor? The tear-sprinkled eyes of his advisor told him that <em> yes </em>, this really was happening. Yes, this wasn’t a dream.</p><p>He’d written his thesis on <em> Modernizing Techniques for Better Tornado Predictions: On the Ground and in the Lab toward Earlier Warning Systems</em>. (Totosai had suggested that title; Kagome had liked it). And he’d given it to his thesis committee, who had enthusiastically endorsed it, and he’d gone to the grumpy margin lady to confirm that his margins were all fine, and now… Totosai was about to hood him. He was about to be Dr. Taisho, a half-demon, and the first in his family to be able to tell people to call him <em> doctor</em>.</p><p>Better than the feel of the heavy satin fabric that Totosai had launched over his head, though, were the sparkling, stormy gray eyes of the woman applauding for him as it happened. Kagome Higurashi. The woman who crashed into his life and made him want to <em> live it </em> again.</p><p>He hadn’t realized that everything except for the chase had faded to black in his life. Kikyo’s departure had focused him on the only anchor he had—tornadoes—to the exclusion of everything else. Kagome was what brought color back, and not only that, Kagome was what made him <em> want </em> to look around and experience the colors of life again.</p><p>After that wonderful—<em>life-changing, really</em>—week, when he had to say goodbye, Inuyasha had been <em> so fucking close </em> to calling Totosai and dropping out, then moving to Chicago to be with her.</p><p>Then there she was, in his arms, tears in her eyes before he made his way back to Norman, telling him she figured it all out. To go home, and to wait for her. It hadn’t made that goodbye any fucking easier, but it softened the blow enough to get him home. And it wasn’t even 24 hours later that he was getting a phone call from Totosai about writing a little blurb about Hakurei needing a media person, a grad student preferably. A position that was custom-made for one Kagome Higurashi.</p><p>Because Kagome was <em> coming. </em> Coming to OU, coming to Norman, coming to <em> him</em>.<br/>
The worst day of his life had given way to the best year of his life.</p><p>From the scent of fresh rain and lilacs invading his nose every night, to the jet of hot water relaxing his muscles (who the fuck knew baths could be so amazing?), to the quiet love-making that soothed their souls after a chase, Inuyasha’s broken heart was whole again. No more Kikyo grief, no more Truth or Consequences guilt.</p><p>Hell, given the bulge in his pocket that he couldn’t stop himself from patting, he was ready for so much more.</p><p>Doctor Inuyasha Taisho.<br/>
Doctor and <em> Mrs. </em> Inuyasha Taisho.</p><p>Because that was what was coming next. He’d made reservations at Kagome’s favorite sushi place in Oklahoma City (to celebrate his graduation), and… something else. Something that involved an antique yellow opal ring that looked like it was filled with storm clouds, haloed with delicate diamonds in two rows, set in a soft rose gold: one crowning the stormy yellow stone, and one that radiated out like rays of the sun in gentle rolling waves. Because to Inuyasha, Kagome was the sunshine of his life. And because Kagome liked to remind him that she loved his eyes—his <em> beautiful </em> eyes. And she called him her ‘golden boy’, because she loved the way his skin shimmered gold.</p><p>He’d spent an embarrassing amount of money on the ring, but when one asks a woman to become their wife, they go all-out. And because Inuyasha <em> had </em> already once had a wife, he wanted to make sure that Kagome could wear a ring that embodied everything that made her special to him. So the obscene-need-to-borrow-a-bit-from-your-advisor price tag was worth it.</p><p>“Did I ever tell you how fucking <em> proud </em> of you I am, <em> Dr. Taisho</em>?” Totosai had pulled Inuyasha in for a hug after throwing the fabric over his head, his voice rasping from joy, the first time Inuyasha had <em> ever </em> heard him be this sentimental.</p><p>“Keh, save it for my paycheck.” Inuyasha looked in the old Ox’s eyes, saying <em> thank you </em> the best way he could. Hakurei was fully-funded and needed permanent staff, including research scientists—<em>including Inuyasha</em>.</p><p>“Not that proud,” Totosai sniggered, then released him. “By the way… you may want to check the models. South Dakota.”</p><p>Inuyasha shook his head, then reclaimed Totosai in a hug, whispering, “Thank you. For <em> everything</em>.”</p><p>He was not going to cry. He wasn’t. Kagome was the only person ever allowed to see him cry; he didn’t even let the fucking flea who shrunk his head see him cry.</p><p>“Go to her. And tell her about the models,” Totosai whispered, and the two walked off the stage together, professor and pupil, “Doctor” and “Doctor.”</p><p>“You did it!” She might’ve been tiny, but Kagome nearly knocked Inuyasha on his ass with the force of her hug, and definitely <em> did </em> make him dizzy with the enthusiasm of her kisses. “<em>Doctor </em> Taisho.” She then leaned in so he could nuzzle her hair—he fucking <em> loved </em> that she did that. “I’m so proud of you.”</p><p>“Keh…” Goddammit, now he really <em> was </em> going to cry.</p><p>“Did you see?” Kagome pulled out her phone, and pulled up the models. “South Dakotaaaaa…”</p><p>“But I got us reservations at Nori for tonight,” Inuyasha teased; he already knew <em> exactly </em> where this conversation was going.</p><p>“Nori can wait; tornadoes can’t, <em> Dr. Taisho</em>.” Fuckkkkkkk, he hoped she would call him ‘doctor’ in the bedroom. He would <em> earn it </em> if he had to.</p><p>“You… sure?” Inuyasha asked, rubbing the bulge in his pocket, the one with a ring that looked like the sun.</p><p>“As long as your Jeep starts, hell yes!” Kagome giggled. “I think I saw Totosai sneaking off toward the DOW already.” Then with a chortle, she added, “I can give you your graduation gift in a South Dakota motel just as easily as after a fancy dinner.”</p><p>Inuyasha groaned. The best fucking day of his life; his proposal all planned out. But… he knew that she would be even more pissed if they missed a tornado, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t propose to her in front of an F4.</p><p>“Sounds good, Duchess.” Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Kagome, the woman who brought light back into his life. “You got your bag?"</p><p>“Always,” Kagome declared. “Now… let’s go!”</p><p>They both headed for the Jeep, hand-in-hand, their chasing bags in the back seats like they always were, ready to tackle the next perfect storm<em> together. </em></p><p>
  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/post/649382852747722752/light-after-the-storm-thanks-kalcia-for">  </a>
</p><p>Artwork by <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a></p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If anyone is interested, this was the reference for the ring.</p><p> </p><p>  </p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
We hope you enjoyed this journey with us! If you'd like, we're all on Tumblr!</p><p>
<a href="https://fawn-eyed-girl.tumblr.com/">Fawn-Eyed-Girl</a>  <a href="https://mickisketch.tumblr.com/">Mickisketch</a>  <a href="https://neutronstarchild.tumblr.com/">NeutronStarchild</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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